Welsh Government steps in after health board’s stalled recovery efforts

Nation.Cymru Staff

The Welsh Government will take direct control of efforts to improve a health board after concluding that it had fallen short of delivering the changes needed.

The government-directed intervention will take place at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to stabilise services, strengthen leadership and accountability, and drive improvements for patients.

Betsi Cadwaladr has been in a heightened state of escalation for 11 years, and at the most serious level (level 5) since February 2023.

Health and Care Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor has said the health board continues to fall short of the standards that people in north Wales deserve and has been clear that the situation can no longer continue.

As part of the intervention, a full stocktake of the health board’s current position will be carried out, covering operational challenges, quality of care and strategic direction.

The review will examine patient safety as well as the health board’s leadership, governance, organisational culture and board capability.

An independent expert panel will undertake the assessment and provide evidence-based recommendations to the Cabinet Minister.

Previous approaches relied on the health board leading its own recovery with external support. That has not delivered the pace or scale of change required. This new intervention moves beyond that, with Welsh Government taking a more direct role in ensuring improvement happens.

A final report is expected by the end of October.

Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “People in north Wales are waiting too long to be able to access the care and treatment they need. This is not a reality the public should be asked to accept, and it is not one this Government will accept either.

“This is the Board’s final chance to demonstrate they can deliver the consistent high standards of care that the people of north Wales deserve.”

NHS Wales Performance and Improvement (NHSWPI) has been tasked in supporting the health board in areas such as planned care, diagnostics and cancer to support operational improvement planning and increasing the robustness of delivery.

Further resources will now be deployed to ensure improvements through the coming months.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales recently designated the emergency department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd as a ‘service requiring significant improvement’ – its highest level of concern – less than two years after it had previously been removed from that status.

NHSWPI will support the development of an Urgent & Emergency Care Improvement Team led by a senior expert who will take forward an improvement plan.

‘Unresolved concerns’

The Minister added: “Today’s announcement is a serious intervention, reflecting the persistent and unresolved concerns. Previous arrangements have relied on the health board identifying and delivering its own recovery, with support alongside it, that has not worked.

“This new plan represents a clear departure from the failed approaches of the past. We are not simply asking the organisation to improve; we are directing them on how that improvement happens. That means setting clear expectations, providing targeted expertise, and maintaining close and continuous oversight of delivery.

“It is a clear statement of my commitment to supporting improvement and ensuring the people of north Wales receive the safe, high-quality and timely care they deserve.”

Longstanding issues

Local MS, Becca Martin, welcomed the Plaid Cymru Government’s announcement to increase intervention after years of ‘Labour failing to deliver improvements to the NHS in north Wales’.

The Clwyd MS said: “For too many years, Labour have failed to deliver improvements to the NHS in north Wales. This new approach from the Plaid Cymru government will truly get to grips with the longstanding issues with healthcare in north Wales.

“It’s not fair that thousands of patients in north Wales have to wait over two years to be seen by the NHS, which is why Plaid Cymru is taking urgent steps to get to grips with the issues facing Betsi Cadwaladr, something that was missing under Labour over their decades in power.

“Betsi Cadwaladr has officially been put on notice by Plaid Cymru. We will not let the residents of north Wales suffer because of the failings of the Health Board any longer.”