Action plan for BETSI
New health boss comes up with 100-day plan
THE man drafted in to “lead and stabilise” Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has asked senior bosses in struggling areas to each come up with a 100-day plan of action.
Simon Dean, the current chief executive of Velindre NHS Trust and deputy chief executive of the Welsh NHS, outlined his priorities to each department in crisis – which include doctor-led maternity at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, out of hours GP services, the Tawel Fan scandal, and governance systems – with each setting a milestone on how progress can be judged.
Mr Dean was named BCUHB’s new interim accountable officer after chief executive Trevor Purt was suspended earlier this month as the board became the first Welsh authority to be put into special measures.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Mr Dean said: “We need to show the public that we are making rapid progress in the areas that the Health Minister referenced in his statement.
“There are some elements in these areas that can be addressed, but we understand others will take longer. The main thing is we have a plan.”
Mr Dean says his main priority is to restore public confidence in the health board, and says it’s time the board began to properly engage with staff, patients and residents.
He said: “It’s got to be about engaging with the public and staff – the board doesn’t have all these answers. It’s time to be open and time to have the conversation and I will willingly accept any offers of help or advice.
“You get some really creative thinking when you liberate people.”
Mr Dean, who began his career in the NHS in London in 1983, said he is not the “saviour” of Betsi Cadwaladr.
“I don’t see myself as a saviour. It’s not about what one individual can do, it’s about what everyone can do, and that’s what will make the health service in North Wales,” he said. “If anything I am more of a catalyst, I’m here to help the board move on.”
Mr Dean described meeting the families of the Tawel Fan victims as a “powerful and humbling” experience, and vowed he would do everything to make sure those involved were held to account.
He also dismissed claims that the size of BCUHB made it “unmanageable”, and said that sometimes big organisations prosper, while smaller ones fail.
He added: “Size I don’t believe is a defining feature here.”