No quick fix for Betsi health board, warns health minister
WELSH GOVERNMENT ‘HOLDING HAND’ OF TRUST’S DECISION-MAKERS AFTER REPORTS LAY BARE SERIOUS ISSUES
IT is going to take a long time to fix issues and culture in Wales’ largest health board, the Welsh Government has admitted.
Health Minister Eluned Morgan said the Welsh Government is “holding the hands” of decision-makers in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board after a series of reports and scandals have laid bare serious problems.
A damning report into Betsi Cadwaladr found that senior members of the finance team deliberately misrepresented the organisation’s accounts.
The leaked report, carried out by accountancy firm Ernst Young (EY) and not yet been officially released, found there was systemic cultural failings in the health board’s finance team and that the poor practices were widely known within senior leaders.
A criminal probe by NHS Counter Fraud Wales recently concluded that no further action would be taken.
North Wales Police has announced they would make an “assessment” on those calls for a probe.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month said he hopes there will be a further police investigation into the issues within the board, which has been in special measures since 2015 – though was briefly, and controversiall, brought out of special measures before the last Senedd election.
Speaking at a press conference last week, Ms Morgan (pictured inset) said: “I think we’ve got to be clear, this is not going to be a short-term fix. “This is going to take a while. We need to make sure that the people who work for the health board understand the changes that need to be made. We do need to think about a new culture in the health board, we need to make sure that performance measures are improved.
“So our team here in Welsh Government are trying to hold the hands of the people who are responsible for delivering for the people of north Wales – that is the health board themselves.
“We do not directly, as a Welsh Government, provide health services. It is the health boards that deliver those services.
“So we’ve now put in new independent members to change the way that the top of the organization works.”
It is understood that Ms Morgan made a surprise visit to the health board area in November and was “furious” at the situation she found there.
Baroness Morgan added that she felt there had been “change” within the organisation.
She said: “My understanding is that there’s been a real change in terms of tone and relationships at the top of the organisation, but that now needs to filter through to the rest of the organisation.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in Betsi Cadwaladr, and this is not going to be something that we’re going to be able to turn around overnight.”
Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies has called on the full report into the mismanagement of Betsi to be published.
David TC Davies said: “People in Wales are seriously concerned by a recent report that discovered mismanagement in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
“So far, the Labour-run Welsh Government has refused our calls to publish the report.
“They need to publish it in full today.”
Earlier last week, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar MS said: “The Ernst & Young report exposes unacceptable and allegedly criminal practices by senior executives and managers in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and beyond.
“There is significant public interest in its contents and the public have a right to know what has been happening.
“Given that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been placed back into special measures, the Health Minister has the power to direct the Health Board to publish the report – she should do so without delay.”