Welsh Conservative Leader and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has criticised the “insufficient progress” at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and called for a clear timetable from the Welsh Government, “with a clear set of actions that you will take as a Government that we can measure you against”.
Responding to yesterday’s Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: Update on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Darren said given that the North Wales health board was first placed in special measures 10 years ago, it is “disappointing that we're still having these regular updates on failings at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board” and “that there has been “insufficient progress on the ground in terms of the services that people are receiving”.
Speaking in the Senedd Chamber he said:
“I want to thank all those NHS staff who are working hard, trying to deliver the best quality care that they can, but the reality is, I'm afraid to say, that all too frequently, patients in my constituency and in other places across North Wales feel let down.
“You made reference to progress on two-year-plus waits; you didn't mention the three-year-plus waits that people are suffering in the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board area. Ninety one per cent of people who wait for more than three years for their treatment in Wales are in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area. That is a shameful statistic. And we know that people, typically, are still waiting more than two years, if they're referred today, for ophthalmology treatment, dermatology treatment, and orthopaedic treatment, and waiting for up to five years - young people, children waiting up to five years - for neurodivergence assessments. It simply isn't good enough.”
He added:
“You talked about improvements in emergency departments having been de-escalated. The reality is that the performance of the emergency departments in our hospitals in North Wales is the worst in the whole of Wales. Just 45 per cent of people are in and out of the main emergency departments in North Wales within the four-hour target in January. And we have the worst performance against the 12-hour target too. I'm afraid your statement smacks of complacency when one in four people are not being seen and discharged within that 12-hour target.”
Darren also criticised the Welsh Government’s promises of “jam tomorrow”, referring to the promised investment in a new hospital in Rhyl to relieve pressures at Glan Clwyd Hospital.
He said:
“Over 12 years ago promises were made to the people of North Wales by the then Secretary for Health, Mark Drakeford, who went on to become First Minister, but still didn't deliver on his promises.
“We were also told about a brand-new project in terms of a mental health unit. Back in 2018, we were told that the Ablett unit would be completely demolished or remodelled and we'd have a brand-new mental health unit for in-patients with 60 beds on the Glan Clwyd Hospital site. Where is it? We've seen absolutely nothing.”
Darren said things are worse now than they were 10 years ago, proving that “Welsh Government intervention is not working”.
The Leader of the Welsh Conservatives also criticised the Welsh Government’s complacency on Prevention of Future Death reports, highlighting that there have been 11 since the start of last year, the highest in Wales of any health board.
He added:
“I'm afraid this complacency isn't good enough. We need to see real change and I want to see a clear timetable from you as a Government, with a clear set of actions that you will take as a Government that we can measure you against, because what's been published to date by the health board and by the Welsh Government isn't giving us any confidence that things are going to get significantly better.”
