A new state-of-the art NHS hub is due to open in South Wales, backed by £121 million of Welsh Government funding.

Six new operating theatres will be built and 54 beds provided at a Llantrisant Health Park initially focusing on hip and knee replacement surgery.

The Regional Orthopaedic Arthroplasty Hub will also include diagnostic and recovery facilities.

It is expected that once open, the Hub will deliver an average 3,000 operations per year.

The project is a collaboration between three University Health Boards - Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Aneurin Bevan and Cardiff and Vale.

Construction is due to start this month, with work expected to finish by late 2028 and the hub opening to patients in early 2029.

The site was previously transformed from a former aircraft engineering factory into a health campus and forms the next phase of a wider plan to create modern, purpose-built facilities for planned care in south east Wales.

By bringing hip and knee surgery together in one place, it is hoped that no patient in the region will wait longer than 36 weeks for treatment by 2030. Doctors also expect to treat more patients more quickly and help more people go home on the same day as their operation.

Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, said: "This funding is a significant boost to the construction of a new purpose-built facility at Llantrisant Health Park - designed to cut waiting times and get people the treatment they need faster.

"Once open, the new Hub will carry out thousands of operations and embed lasting sustainability into the system. This is what real investment in the NHS looks like - not a quick fix, but the capacity we need to clear the backlog and keep waiting times down for the future."