Vale of Clwyd MS, Gareth Davies, directly asked the Health Minister about the recent Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ report of the Emergency Department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital.
In a powerful set of questions, Gareth asked if dealing with the damming findings of the report will be a priority for the new board of Betsi Cadwaladr so that unacceptable issues can be resolved. Additionally, he made the Minister aware that this is the third time inspectors have had a negative report about Glan Clwyd hospital in a 12-month period. In the chamber, Gareth said:
‘’We are seeing scant evidence of any progress being made on the recommendations supplied by the inspectorate. Let me make it clear this is not attack on the frontline workers in the departments, who are working way above and beyond their job descriptions’’.
The problems in Glan Clwyd are a result of staff feeling overworked and unhappy whilst not being supported by senior leadership in the health board. This creates a vicious circle of low morale, lowered productivity and therefore increasing putting patients at risk. If we can tackle the problem of waiting times, it will help ease other problems not just in Glan Clwyd but across Betsi Cadwaladr. Commenting on this, Gareth said:
‘’This vicious circle leads to creating even more serious problems in the NHS because hospitals become reliant on agency workers to plug the gaps left by staff who are not in work. This costs the NHS a fortune with lower standards which are unfair on patients and taxpayers’’.
Gareth argues that the Health Minister needs to get a grip of the situation and stop passing the blame to the UK Government. We need action from the Welsh Government to stop this constant failure of patients. He said that ‘‘People in the Vale of Clwyd have had enough of bad news from Betsi Cadwaladr with years of inaction. The Welsh Governments needs to understand why the people of Denbighshire are rightly annoyed and deserve results’’.
Gareth was disappointed by the Minister’s response and will continue to hold the Welsh Government accountable for continued and unacceptable failures.
