The hospital was designed by
George Thomas Hine and Hallam Carter-Pegg using a compact arrow layout, and was officially opened by the
Princess Royal as Swansea Mental Hospital in 1932. It was used as a casualty hospital during the
Second World War. Work started in 2009 to build modern replacement mental-health accommodation and facilities, including Ysbryd y Coed, which is purpose-built for patients with
dementia, in the grounds of Cefn Coed . Other new-builds in the Cefn Coed grounds are the 18-bed Gwelfor Rehabilitation Unit, a pub featuring
non-alcoholic beer called “The Derwen Arms”, and two supported houses for recovering patients preparing to move back home. In March 2015, the health board's new low-secure mental-health unit, Taith Newydd, opened in
Bridgend, replacing some of the old wards at Cefn Coed. Other new mental-health builds include the ARC Centre and Angelton Clinic in Bridgend, and Ty Einon in
Swansea. In 2015, the NHS announced that the phased closure of Cefn Coed Hospital would continue for the next three to five years, with several decommissioned wards planned for demolition that year. ==Notable staff==