Plaid Cymru renews calls for Health Minister to be axed after criticism from top official
Plaid Cymru has claimed its calls for Health Minister Eluned Morgan to be sacked earlier this month have been vindicated, following the publication of a highly critical letter written by Mark Polin, the former Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) chair.
In the letter, published by the Daily Post, Mr Polin accuses the the minister of being “engaged in what can only be described as an exercise in attempting to distance herself, her government and her officials from any responsibility for seemingly anything to do with improving healthcare across Wales and particularly here in the north.”
Mr Polin added that “patients across Wales, and in particular north Wales, are being placed at risk by an NHS system which is badly misfiring and arguably broken.”
Shifted blame
Earlier this month, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Plaid Cymru’s health spokesperson claimed the minister had “shifted blame onto others when challenged with the disastrous outcomes of her own policies” and called for her to go.
In response to Mr Polin’s letter, Mr ap Iorwerth MS said: “Plaid Cymru’s calls for the Health Minister to be sacked at the start of this month are given added weight by Mark Polin’s letter.
“He raises serious questions about the integrity of the Minister and the way that she has managed health care in Wales over the last two years.
“Our health service is broken – but Welsh Government deny it’s in crisis. We’ve called for a full inquiry into the mis-management of Betsi Cadwaladr – Welsh Government have denied us that.
“Welsh Government cannot keep doing the same thing and expect things to improve by themselves. In just the last few months patients are waiting longer for treatment than ever before, we’ve seen the slowest ambulance response times on record, and had patients being discharged from hospitals without appropriate care packages lined up to help them.
“This decline has happened on the Health Minister’s and Labour’s watch, and the people of north Wales are tired – sick and tired – of this consistent mis-management. The patients, staff and people of the north of Wales deserve better.”
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So true, it was obvious from the outset that she was to be a gatekeeper, whether that was imposed on MD or a method of avoiding scrutiny chosen by him, given his reluctance to hold a Cymru only investigation. Whichever, it is likely that it has harmed the people who have to rely on Betsi Cadwaladr for treatment and post op care. Sad to say…
Mark Polins letter is so damming against the whole Welsh Govt you have to wonder if they are capable of running Wales never mind the NHS and maybe all should now go. Absolute disgrace.
Mark Polin has an agenda here. So does Plaid. Always ask who benefits. BCU is a very poorly functioning organisation and he needs to take some responsibility not shift blame. I’m not saying ministers are blameless but, having worked in healthcare, you can see the organisations which function and which don’t.
MP and the No Exec Board were just the usual suspects – little community links and a profile so out of sight no one knew who they were. The CHC was about as effective in challenging them as the UN 🇺🇳 is against Russia.
The patients have not benefited and that is the crux of the matter..