Whistleblower’s concern over cancer treatment delay prompts call for health board boss to resign

Martin Shipton

A leading councillor has called for the resignation of a health board chief executive following “unacceptable” delays to cancer treatment and other serious concerns.

Last Autumn, a whistleblowing staff member at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend contacted Cllr Amanda Williams, who leads the opposition Bridgend County Independents group on Bridgend County Borough Council.

The whistleblower stated: “I am writing to you anonymously as a concerned NHS staff member working within the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. I do so with deep concern for the future of healthcare provision in our community and the wellbeing of both patients and staff.

“Over the past year we have seen a number of services including Stroke, Ward 19 and various elective surgeries removed from the Princess of Wales site, reportedly due to urgent roof repairs. Initially, these changes were communicated as temporary safety measures. However, it has become increasingly clear that these moves are part of a broader and permanent reconfiguration of services, one that has taken place without any public consultation or transparent engagement with staff or the local community.

“There are now further indications that Urology, Colorectal and other essential services are next to be moved and continue to be centralised at Royal Glamorgan Hospital. These moves have a significant impact on patient access, particularly for elderly and vulnerable residents of Bridgend, many of whom struggle with the long and complex journey to Royal Glam due to inadequate public transport links.

“The financial aspect also raises concerns. The public were told roof repairs would cost £20m, but it appears the final cost exceeded £30m, including new windows, solar panels and upgrades to fire safety systems. Despite this investment, services have not returned and the roof reportedly continues to leak. The recently refurbished theatres, which were condemned for safety reasons in 2019, remain underutilised, representing a questionable use of public money.

“Perhaps most worrying is the culture of silence being imposed on staff. Many of us have been discouraged or explicitly told not to raise concerns with MPs, PALS [the Patient Advice Liaison Service] or the public. Consultants feel pressure to pretend that the service disruptions are still due to roof issues, when we know that this is no longer the case. There is growing fear of speaking out, even when patients are waiting months for cancer treatment well beyond the 62 day NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] pathway.

“There are also worrying reports of consultants at Royal Glamorgan implementing their own cancer treatment policies that go against NICE guidelines, using their position to threaten staff with disciplinary action if these are not followed. This places both patients and professionals in extremely difficult and potentially unsafe positions.

“Families are also suffering. I am aware of elderly relatives taking taxis to Royal Glamorgan because they cannot access direct bus routes. In contrast, Princess of Wales Hospital is serviced by nearly all public local public transport routes, making it a much more appropriate location for local care delivery.”

‘Clarity’

The whistleblower urged Cllr Williams to hold the health board to account, stating: “Demand clarity from Paul Mears and senior leadership on the long term plan for the hospital. This is not just a staffing issue – it’s a matter of public trust, healthcare, equity and patient safety.

“I am proud to work in the NHS, but I am currently ashamed and heartbroken by what is happening. Bridgend deserves better.”

This week the whistleblower sent a further message to Cllr Williams, stating: “Any hope for Princess of Wales seems to be fading. The hospital is losing more services on a daily basis, wards closing and not re-opening, services going and staff being the last to find out … money being spent on theatres for only specific operations to take place and many more changes.

“It’s inevitable services will not be coming back, even though people are making out they haven’t left. Even Royal Glam staff know information before our own staff.

“Patients are being moved from Bridgend to Royal Glam even for recovery now instead of staying in their local area … We have a massive population which is not being served.”

The whistleblower added: “Our endoscopy lists are massively overdue … We have been informed today we are also seeing Swansea Bay patients for their endoscopy to get their waiting lists down. Bridgend doesn’t seem to have a voice.

“We have a ‘watch and wait’ protocol for some of our cancer patients. Some patients decide to have an operation and then treatment. Others would prefer to keep an eye on it and then if the disease becomes progressively worse, then act on it. This involves MRI, CT scans every few months and endoscopies and bloods. Some are every four months, some are every six months, but it’s a priority they are seen within this time due to progression etc of the disease.

“We have patients who were due for an endoscopy in May 2026, and they will be due their next endoscopy in September. They have yet to have their May one, despite this being flagged up on umpteen occasions, dates being fixed and complaints being put in regularly. These are either being ignored, giving staff false promises of ‘we will book them today’ or being fobbed off as not as urgent by people who have come in and have no clue what they are doing. We have explained on many occasions this service is crucial and it’s still ignored.

“One of the managers even asked one of the consultants the other week what they meant by ‘recurrence’ when explaining that one of our patients needed an endoscopy due to having previous cancer and now suspected recurrence. It’s leaving staff with doubt, scared for the patients and many staff leaving purely because the patients are not treated with respect when management are pushing numbers.

‘Lack of answers’

Cllr Williams responded: “I’ve been trying to meet with Paul Mears for months and months. At first he agreed, but now he’s refusing to meet. I’ve been trying to get contact details for the chair of Cwm Taf too, and they are refusing to give me details. That’s why I’ve gone to the Welsh Government as I’m really unhappy with the lack of answers.”

The whistleblower then stated: “Managers have not got a clue, yet they have plenty of them and not enough nurses, consultants and other medical staff.”

Cllr Williams told Nation.Cymru: “Something is clearly very wrong with the management of the health board. I think Paul Mears should resign. He seems to be out of his depth and I believe it’s time for a fresh start.”

A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board responded: “The comments attributed to a staff member are highly subjective and inaccurate. There are a range of well-established routes within our health board through which staff can raise concerns, and we would recommend these are used.

“We can also confirm that the health board has been in regular contact with Cllr Williams and we will use the appropriate, formal channels to continue this dialogue.”

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