Responding to today’s announcement that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has returned to special measures, Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies said:
“I attended a meeting this lunchtime with the Welsh Health Minister, Baroness Eluned Morgan, in North Wales, at which she told us that the Health Board would be returning to special measures. Frankly, the news came as no surprise.
“I continue to receive dozens of complaints a month from constituents who have experienced entirely unacceptable and sometimes unsafe healthcare through Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
“The NHS in Wales has been devolved since 1999 and run by the Labour Party for over a quarter of a century. On nearly all measures, it now performs bottom of the pile in the UK, yet this was not always the case.
“The Health Board was abruptly taken out of special measures in November 2020, six months before the devolved elections, despite reports into further failings in vascular services, emergency departments and other aspects of performance. Special measures should never have been removed and I therefore welcome the return. However, the measures the Board returns to need to be more meaningful and effective than in the past.
“I have serious concerns at the potential for a turnaround for the board while longstanding layers of management remain largely untouched.
“There needs to be a radical overhaul of the leadership of local health services, involving the best of the best from across Britain, who understand healthcare, can recognise the failings locally and act on them.
“The Welsh Government must be held accountable for the services they oversee.”
