Welsh NHS patients at risk, says former health boss

Betsi Cadwaladr health board runs health services across north Wales

Patients are at risk in Wales from an "arguably broken" NHS that is "badly misfiring", a former health boss has said.

Mark Polin chaired Betsi Cadwaladr health board until he and other board members were forced to resign.

He accused Health Minister Eluned Morgan of not taking any responsibility for improving healthcare.

Later she survived an attempt by the Welsh Conservatives to pass a motion of no confidence in her.

They accused Ms Morgan of trying to dodge responsibility for failings at the health board, which she put back in special measures in February after a damning audit report.

In a debate Ms Morgan defended her record, saying she took "decisive" action to address significant concerns at the north Wales board, and blamed the lack of funding from the UK government.

In a highly critical statement initially given to the Daily Post, Mr Polin claimed concerns from the board had been ignored by the government.

He called for a public inquiry, and also claimed board members, in one instance, were "deliberately" misled.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board declined to comment.

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Ms Morgan's decision to sack the independent board of Betsi Cadwaladr sparked a row in February, with former members accusing the Welsh government of failing to get a grasp of the situation.

An audit report depicted working relationships among the senior leadership having broken down and an executive team suffering dysfunction.

It followed a string of criticisms of the performance of the health board, including over vascular and emergency services.

Mark Polin is a former chief constable of North Wales Police

In his statement Mr Polin said he wanted to correct an assertion that he had been removed because board members failed to challenge the executive.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

He added that a "fundamental problem that had been building for some time was independent members becoming more and more dissatisfied and concerned with the responses to scrutiny".

There had been "a growing number of examples of the board being misled in this regard and in one instance, at least, deliberately so".

'Simply ignored'

The former chairman said Ms Morgan had "engaged in what can only be described as an exercise in attempting to distance herself, her government and her officials from any responsibility for seemingly anything to do with improving healthcare across Wales".

He said a series of long-standing shortcomings and concerns had been escalated at the start of September "not just to the then CEO but also to the minister and the director-general. Those escalations and the basis for them were simply ignored by the government".

"By any measure patients across Wales, and in particular north Wales, are being placed at risk by an NHS system which is badly misfiring and arguably broken", he added.

Eluned Morgan has been health minister since 2021.

On Wednesday evening Senedd members voted against the Welsh Conservative motion of no confidence in Ms Morgan.

A total of 26 members backed it, versus 29 against.

Conservative and Plaid Cymru members had supported the vote, while Labour members and the Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds opposed it.

Opening the debate for the Welsh Conservatives, Aberconwy MS Sam Rowlands said Ms Morgan had "chosen" not to be accountable for issues in the health service.

He said it was board members of Betsi Cadwaladr "who have been highlighting the failings who've been holding the executive to account".

"It is they who the minister has chosen to hold accountable for failings, not herself," he said.

Conservatives repeatedly told the debate they had not wanted to bring the motion to the Senedd.

Darren Millar said it had been the last time the party tabled a motion of no confidence was 11 years ago: "Because we don't take it lightly - this is not a game."

But Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said the debate was an attempt to "grab headlines".

"I think that it is dishonest and that the public will see through it."

She had "significant concerns around the NHS in Wales", but said: "I don't think a merry go round of ministers around the Cabinet table will deliver the systemic changes that we need."

Plaid Cymru health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said Ms Morgan's handling of the Betsi Cadwaladr issue "was the straw that broke the camel's back" for his party.

Mr ap Iorwerth added: "This is a minister and this is a government that may well believe they have a vision for the future of the NHS in Wales. But if they do, it's a helplessly blurred vision, neutered by the constant firefighting, devoid of new ideas to see it through".

'Thankless job'

Health Minister Eluned Morgan told the Senedd she has been questioning whether she can do "this thankless job".

"But everyday I realised that I've got something to offer," she told MSs. "And that is that I care."

She admitted it was not an "easy job" after the pandemic saw waiting lists "soaring everywhere", and she wakes up "every morning worrying about the man waiting for a hip operation".

"Chronic underfunding of this precious institution, caused by Tory mismanagement of our public finances makes this extremely difficult," she said.

Ms Morgan said took "swift and decisive action" to address significant concerns from a series of independent reports at Betsi Cadwaladr.

Taking aim at the party Welsh Labour is in a co-operation deal with, she said: "I have to say the cry of toxicity, chaos, and dysfunction at the top of an institution is really rich coming from Plaid Cymru after what we hear about their party."

She said she would remain minister as long as she had the confidence of Mark Drakeford.

The debate ended with no contributions having been made by any North Wales Labour Senedd members.