MS calls for independent body to manage health board

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives ins the Senedd has accused the Welsh Government of  “politicising” north Wales’ health board’s special measures management.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in special measures for over a decade due to its poor performance and now has the worst record in Wales for preventable deaths.

Both Conwy and Denbighshire county councils have declared a “health emergency” in the region, citing “third-world” conditions, long waiting times, and “corridor care”.

But with no end in sight for special measures, Clwyd-West MS Darren Millar wants an independent body to take charge of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, rather than the Welsh Government.

Mr Millar claims the Welsh Government being in charge means decisions are made with politics in mind, which don’t always provide the best healthcare.

“The NHS in North Wales went into special measures back in 2015 because it was not performing well enough,” he said.

“Since then, it has actually got worse; it hasn’t got any better, especially in terms of access to emergency services. And what the Royal College of Emergency Medicine will tell you is that for every long wait in the emergency department there is a much higher risk of patients coming to harm or dying, and that is literally what is happening in North Wales.

“Lives are needlessly being harmed or lost as a result of the Welsh Government’s special measures intervention framework not delivering the improvements that are required.

“There is no other NHS organisation in the history of the NHS in any part of the United Kingdom that has ever been in special measures or intervention arrangements for as long as Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has. And in fact, it has been in special measures or high levels of intervention for more time than it has not been since it was established, so there is something clearly wrong with the way the Welsh Government intervention arrangements work.

“What I’d like to see is a much less politicised intervention arrangement. At the moment in Wales, our intervention arrangements can only happen with the say so of a minister. So politicians have to make the decision to put an organisation into special measures, and politicians make the decision when those organisations can come out, and that means they are subject to concerns about public perception about how those decisions will be made, and that is entirely the wrong way for them to be.”

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales

He added: “What we need is an independent organisation making those decisions. It should be entirely up to the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales when an organisation should be put in special measures, and not without any government or political interference at all. That’s the way it works in England with the Care Quality Commission. They make the decision.

“They then put in a squad to turn the situation around as rapidly as possible, and generally they deliver the improvements quickly.

“We don’t have that situation in Wales. What we have is political interference, constantly looking at their reputation, the reputation of the governing party, rather than having their eyes fixed on the prize, which is supposed to be the delivery of improvements for patients.”

Investment

Earlier this week, the Labour Cabinet Secretary for Health, Jeremy Miles, claimed treatment in North Wales was improving, citing investment in radiotherapy machines.

Mr Miles admitted the state of affairs in North Wales was “not good enough” but said the region would see “significant change” as a result of investment over the course of “this year and next year”.

The Welsh Government declined to comment.