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Wales’ newest hospital has been operating without full planning permission for its accident and emergency department since opening three years ago, it has been revealed.

The Grange University Hospital in Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran, has only had permission to treat patients at its A&E department who had been brought there either by ambulance or transferred from another hospital.

Health chiefs had never imagined people would take themselves to the A&E at the £358 million hospital when they were granted planning permission for the 450 bed critical care facility in 2013.

As a result the planning permission only covered “triaged patients” that is those who have been assessed, in some form, by health professionals and taken to the hospital either by ambulance or helicopter, or transferred from another health facility.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has now been given permission to vary the planning permission so that it does allow the A&E to treat “walk-in” patients. It was also given permission to keep a car park it had already developed, without permission, to provide for the “walk-in” patients and create a two-storey extension to the emergency department.

However Torfaen Borough Council’s planning committee, which approved the two applications in a special meeting arranged to rectify the health board’s oversight, heard concerns there could be increased demand on the hospital due to the board’s own proposal to close the Minor Injuries Unit at Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall Hospital overnight.

It was also confirmed there are no plans for additional staff to work at the hospital. The approved extension will have seating capacity for at least 78 patients on the ground floor, new patient assessment rooms and an additional electrocardiogram room. Staff rooms would be on the first floor and a partial second floor would house a plant room.

The current emergency department only has waiting capacity for 38 patients and the board has reported there are often more than 70 waiting while Health Inspectorate Wales has said action to increase capacity is an “urgent requirement”.

The original planning permission also only had 22 parking spaces for the emergency department but the board has since developed an 11-space car park next to it, where it also has portable diagnostic assessment centres, which are to be moved to another part of the site, and a 58-space car park to the north of the unit.

Both applications were approved unanimously.