‘Chaos’ at north Wales Health Board with call for ‘heads to roll’

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A former surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd has called for “heads to roll” over what he calls ongoing “chaos” in emergency departments across north Wales.

Jonathan Osborne, a former ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, said Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s leadership had failed to address longstanding problems, including ambulance delays, lengthy waits, and patients being left on trolleys in hospital corridors.

Mr Osborne set up the BEDS – End Corridor Care in A&E Facebook campaign group two years ago to put pressure on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the Welsh Government. The group, which comprises former doctors and nurses, is calling for community beds to be reinstated, an end to what it describes as tragedies in A&E corridors, and a reduction in deaths linked to delays in emergency care.

Mr Osborne said: “If you’ve attended accidents and emergencies recently, especially at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, you will be painfully aware that the chaos continues. Ambulance delays, long waits in often intolerable conditions and then, if you require admission, days of waiting on a trolley in a corridor for a bed. There are over 500 unnecessary deaths in North Wales each year, mainly from delays in A&E.

“If this is how it is in October, which should be a relatively quiet month, it looks grim for the winter ahead.”

The health board insisted that it remained committed to “delivering safe, effective and compassionate care, improving performance”.

The campaign group said it first contacted the health board about conditions in A&E in 2024.

Mr Osborne said it had since put forward a series of relatively inexpensive measures intended to improve the experience of patients waiting for treatment. These included more comfortable seating, regular access to food and drink, a buzzer system to alert patients when they were called, better toilet cleaning and maintenance, and bathroom facilities for those waiting more than 12 hours.

The group has also proposed increasing early morning staffing to clear overnight waits and more consultant support for junior colleagues triaging patients.

He added: “So far there has been no response to our recent letters or any mention of our suggestions at ‘public’ meetings where there is a complete lack of engagement with the public whose pre-submitted questions receive corporate non-answers.”

“It’s not just our campaign. Health Inspectorate Wales conducted inspections of A&E at Glan Clwyd in 2024 and again in May 2026. Their conclusions are damning, stating that, despite the board’s protestations to the contrary, things were worse in 2026. The inspectors were deeply concerned about patient safety, overcrowding, a lack of leadership and governance, waiting times, patient dignity, and the continuation of unsafe corridor care.

“Audit Wales has also published a report on the board identifying continuing weaknesses in executive accountability, performance management, quality assurance, organisational reform, and financial planning.”

Senior managers

He went on to claim that the several senior managers had left the health board: “BEDS understands that the Board is in meltdown. The Vice Chair, Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Finance Director are all leaving. The remaining executives appear paralysed. This is despite many years of Special Measures and Cardiff’s finest teams of civil servants wending their way up the A470 to try and improve things.

“It is obvious that the current leadership has failed. However, at Welsh Government level the First Minister has given the Board a further two years respite. The people of North Wales do not deserve two more years of community bed closures fuelling the chaos in A&E departments. They do not deserve two more years of capable and irreplaceable clinical staff leaving the worst performing health board in Wales. The situation will only become worse. They deserve better and soon.

“The Health Minister (Mabon ap Gwynfor) must intervene now and put capable people in charge, empowering competent consultants and GPs to change their service for the better. Restructure, if necessary, but there must be a net loss of middle managers who appear unaccountable for their shaky decisions and ignore the advice of clinicians on the frontline. There are large cost savings to be made.”

He added: “Ignoring even the simplest practical suggestions for ways to return dignity and safety to staff and patients in A&E is a callous dereliction of duty from a failing health board. There is also no excuse for the ‘Assembly Government’ (Welsh Government) to dodge radical action now.”

Waiting

Matt Powls, Interim Chief Operating Officer for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “We recognise that too many patients are waiting longer than they should in our emergency departments. Like NHS organisations across the UK, we are experiencing both significant demand for urgent and emergency care, with over 500 patients presenting every day on average, and challenges in the timely discharge of inpatients from hospital.

“Our focus remains firmly on ensuring delivering safe, effective and compassionate care, improving performance, and supporting our ongoing improvement priorities for staff, patients and communities across North Wales. Improvement plans are in place and underway across all our emergency departments, and we remain committed to assuring Health Inspectorate Wales and the public that we are serious about improving people’s experiences by embedding progress into long-term, sustainable change.

“We have engaged with the campaign group and value the views of patients, communities, and stakeholder groups and continue to listen to all suggestions on how services can continue to improve.” He added: “While there are changes within the executive team, with colleagues taking retirement or finding other opportunities, posts are now again filled ensuring leadership continuity.”

Pressures

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We recognise the pressures facing emergency care in North Wales and across the country. Long waits, ambulance delays, and overcrowding are not acceptable. We’re focused on improving patient flow and ensuring people get timely, safe care.

“At the end of June, the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care announced direct action to drive improvement at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. This is a serious intervention, reflecting the persistent and unresolved concerns. An independent panel is undertaking a well-led review and will provide clear, evidence-based recommendations to the Cabinet Minister. In addition, NHS Wales Performance and Improvement are doing specific work in relation to quality and performance.”

He added: “We expect sustained action from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board which shows clear, tangible improvements for the people of north Wales.”

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