Dragon's Heart Hospital

Chief Executive of Cardiff and Vale UHB Len Richards confirmed that the health board had carried out modelling and predictions of patient number scenarios, aided by research from Imperial College, London. As a result of that research, they felt it necessary to expand capacity in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area through a large field hospital. and the site was designed and made operational in under two weeks in March. The project required 5,000 planning hours, 650 contractors and 30 members of the armed forces. However it was stated that where capacity was available, the facility would have been open to patients from other health boards across Wales. == Details ==

The first 330-bed spaces were completed on 11 April, and handed over by the Main Contractor, ES Global Ltd, to the client, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The home and away dressing rooms were repurposed to serve as office spaces. Cardiff Arms Park was being utilised as part of the Dragon's Heart Hospital and had seen flooring laid upon the artificial turf. However, there would also be patients on palliative care plans located at the site. The WRU worked with the Vale Resort in Hensol to make a further 255 patient space available at its training ground site in the Vale of Glamorgan, to open on 27 April. That site included eight wards and food supplied from the adjacent hotel. The Hensol Castle Distillery provided hand sanitiser on that site. == Naming ==

The hospital was named following a public consultation, with the eventual name chosen by staff and the public from 2,000 responses. == Resources ==

WalesOnline report that once operational, the hospital would provide 20,000 porter visits daily to different parts of the hospital, producing three-and-a-half tons of clinical waste, and consume hundreds of thousands of litres of oxygen. Decommissioning including reinstatement of the stadium would take 4 months and cost £9.730M. == Staffing ==

It was intended that around 2,500 staff would be employed when the site was at full capacity, == Operation ==

The first patient was admitted to the hospital on 28 April 2020. The hospital had 46 patients at its busiest, but by 4 June, it had no remaining patients and on 8 June Cardiff and Vale University Health Board announced that it would be "put on standby". Although most staff were redeployed elsewhere, the Health Board indicated that the Principality Stadium would remain out of use for sport indefinitely. == Closure ==

In September it was reported that the hospital was to be replaced by a smaller facility nearby, next to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. In November 2020, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB) formally left Dragon's Heart Hospital. Recommissioning the stadium for sporting use began the same month. == See also ==