I begged them not to send dad home from hospital
NORTH Wales patients should remain sceptical about care improvements, according to the head of the region’s patient watchdog.
Geoff Ryall-Harvey, chief officer at North Wales Community Health Council (CHC), issued the warning last week - on the anniversary of the region’s health board being placed in special measures.
Betsi Cadwaladr (BCUHB) became the country’s first health board to be put in the high intervention category in the wake of the Tawel Fan mental health unit scandal.
Mr Ryall-Harvey said improvements had been made but BCUHB still had a long way to go to regain trust.
He added: “I think it was possibly the bravest and best decision of Mark Drakeford’s career as health secretary.
“We have seen improvements, we have an enthusiastic new management team. There seems to be a different ethos.”
But Mr Ryall-Harvey warned waiting times and the board’s attitude to patient complaints were still an issue.
More than 1,200 people waited in excess of 12 hours in North Wales’ A&E departments as staff abandoned their holidays in the face of unprecedented pressures in March.
BCUHB was placed into special measures due to serious and outstanding concerns about the leadership, governance and progress and a corrosion of public confidence.
Mr Ryall-Harvey said many of the improvements, such as in governance, were not directly seen by patients.
He said: “The public in North Wales should be sceptical and looking hard for signs of improvement but at the same time they should not be cynical.”
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said major improvements had been made by the new board in North Wales, including in GP out-of-hours care, but he said things were ‘not perfect’.
Mr Gething added: “There are real examples of excellence in and across North Wales and I am really keen we don’t lose sight of that.”
Health leaders are set to meet in the coming days to discuss the progress of the board.”