A SPECIAL celebration has been held to mark the official opening of Ysbyty Gwynedd’s cancer unit following its £1.2m makeover.

Former patients and staff were joined by the Alarm’s Mike Peters to celebrate the official opening and thank fund-raisers who were responsible for the expansion at the Alaw Unit.

Building work on the project began in 2016 and has been funded exclusively through charitable support, with the Gwynedd Haematology and Cancer Relief Fund pledging £500,000 to support the build. The remaining funding came from donations through the North Wales NHS Charity Awyr Las, the Alaw Fundraising Group, and other supporters of the unit.

The development has doubled the current number of consultations rooms and has increased the day unit’s capacity by 40 per cent.

A new reception and separate waiting room have also been created for outpatients and a dedicated area is now set aside for stem cell patients in the day unit.

Laura Edge, a sister in the day unit, said: “From all nursing staff and frontline staff I would like to thank everyone that has contributed, they have made such a huge difference to the lives of patients that come into the unit and when they have their treatment."

During the morning a special show was also broadcast live from BBC Radio Wales’ Wynne Evans who was joined by several members of staff as well as children from Ysgol Baladeulyn and Ysgol Hafod Lon to celebrate the event.

One special fund-raiser, who was remembered during the ceremony, was the inspirational Irfon Williams, who sadly lost his battle with cancer last month.

Irfon, a former nurse and mental health manager, who was treated on the Alaw Unit, was incredibly driven throughout his illness, setting up #teamirfon with Awyr Las, and raising over £150,000 to support patients on the unit.

His wife, Becky, who attended the opening, said: "It was important for us to make sure the staff on Alaw can go on providing the incredible care, treatment and research for many years to come.”

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