Under-fire health board ‘turning a corner’ 100 days after being placed into special measures, according to its chief executive, by Mark Smith 16 Sep 2015
The decision to place Betsi Cadwaladr UHB under ministerial control was made by Health Minister Mark Drakeford following the Tawel Fan controversy.
Simon Dean, the interim chief executive of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, says the health board is improving. A troubled health board which was put under ministerial control due to concerns over the way it was run is “turning a corner”, its chief executive has claimed.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was placed into special measures by the Welsh Government in June following “failings” in its leadership and governance. The health board was criticised for its lack of public consultation over plans to remove doctor-led maternity care at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Rhyl.
New consultation
In July, judges ruled that Betsi’s plans should be quashed due to its “secretive” and “publicly discredited process”. A new consultation has now begun with a final decision being made in November.
It also came under close scrutiny following a harrowing report on the Tawel Fan ward at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, which highlighted “shocking, inexcusable and unacceptable” treatment of patients.
Interim chief executive at Betsi Cadwaladr Simon Dean set a 100-day challenge to help turn the troubled organisation around.
He said: “When I arrived and started meeting colleagues around the health board, it was immediately clear that there are many dedicated staff in the organisation who are all anxious to deliver first class health services for the people of North Wales.
“It was also obvious that the problems that had arisen in some parts of the organisation, and the way we were viewed by the public, were having a negative influence on morale.”
‘Never solve everything in 100 days’
He added: “It was essential that we started to make improvements quickly. I know we could never hope to solve everything in 100 days but, by having very clear plans that set out specific deadlines for individual actions, I wanted people to see that we could start to turn things around.
“Equally, I wanted to make sure that we didn’t put off starting to address the big issues and those that would take a longer time to sort out.
“I believe that we have started to make real progress, although of course there is a long way to go. Although much of our work is taking place behind the scenes, there are also very visible actions taking place. For the last three months teams of health board staff have been going out to public events, meeting with other organisations and holding drop-in sessions for members of the public to talk to us about what is important to them about health and health services.
‘Significant steps’
Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething said “significant steps” have been taken in each of the five areas highlighted as part of the special measures.
Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan
They included governance, leadership and oversight; mental health services; maternity services at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd; GP and primary care including out-of-hours services and reconnecting with the public in North Wales.
As part of the 100-day plan, 27 midwives have been appointed following a recruitment drive, more than 1,000 conversations have been held with members of the public and key milestones are being met in the provision of GP out-of-hours services.
Formal review of progress
Mr Gething said: “Special measures must provide a sustainable foundation for the health board into the long term and give confidence to people in North Wales about the board’s ability to provide high-quality health services.
Has Betsi Cadwaladr health board turned the corner?, by Owain Clarke
BBC Wales online, 16 September 2015
We will see. They can’t have gone much worse as a health board. It took them 9 months to respond to my last letter of concern re dangerous staffing levels and harmful practice. Off course no one admitted to any of it.