The ousted chair of a troubled health board has issued a damning letter criticising the First Minister Mark Drakeford and Health Minister Eluned Morgan. Ms Morgan is facing a vote of no confidence in the Senedd today over the handling of trouble at Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board.
Ahead of the vote, Mark Polin, the former Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board issued a damning statement weeks after he was forced to quit alongside other members of the independent board. In the statement which has been reported by North Wales Live, Mr Polin said the First Minister has ignored his letter and claims that Ms Morgan is trying to pass the blame.
A vote of no confidence in Health Minister Eluned Morgan has been called by the Welsh Conservatives and will be voted on in the Senedd on Wednesday afternoon. Plaid Cymru is expected to support the motion, however Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds is expected not to vote to support the no confidence. You can follow live updates on that here.
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Mr Polin said NHS patients across Wales, in particular in north Wales, are "being placed at risk by an NHS system which is badly misfiring and arguably broken." Among the damning letter, Mr Polin claims:
- Shortcomings were flagged in September and "ignored by the government"
Ms Morgan needs to stop "assigning failings to others" and take responsibility
Ms Morgan is trying to "distance herself, her government and her officials" from any responsibility
A "clandestine search" to replace independent board members began four weeks prior to the finalisation of the Audit Wales report
"Indecisiveness and bureaucracy at the heart of Welsh government" preventing improvements in NHS across Wales
The Welsh Government places blame "for continuing funding challenges and associated risks and performance issues at the door of central government"
Special measures is an attempt to divert from the "underlying causes" of poor performance across the NHS
Mr Polin believes the problems at Betsi are past special measures, which is a form of escalation that he said "have not worked time and time again". He argues that patients ant their families are "entitled to expect a public enquiry or some other fundamental, independent review to be conducted."
Mr Polin said the board raised issues around Betsi in September. He said: "A range of longstanding shortcomings and concerns were escalated formally 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 government."
His main criticism was on Ms Morgan, who he claims needs to take some responsibility for the failings at the health board, as well as the failings across the Welsh NHS as a whole. He said: "The government and the health minister also need to stop assigning failings to others and begin accepting and demonstrating responsibility rather than excuses."
He added: "The decision to return along with the appointment of a group of special advisers, not all new, is a naked attempt to divert from the underlying causes of continuing poor performance and service delivery on too many fronts, which certainly do no rest with the professional, patient focused and committed front line staff."
Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said: “Plaid Cymru’s calls for the Health Minister to be sacked at the start of this month are given added weight by Mark Polin’s letter. He raises serious questions about the integrity of the Minister and the way that she has managed health care in Wales over the last two years.
“Our health service is broken – but Welsh Government deny it’s in crisis. We’ve called for a full inquiry into the mis-management of Betsi Cadwaladr – Welsh Government have denied us that. Welsh Government cannot keep doing the same thing and expect things to improve by themselves. In just the last few months patients are waiting longer for treatment than ever before, we’ve seen the slowest ambulance response times on record, and had patients being discharged from hospitals without appropriate care packages lined up to help them.
“This decline has happened on the Health Minister’s and Labour’s watch, and the people of north Wales are tired – sick and tired – of this consistent mis-management. The patients, staff and people of the north of Wales deserve better.”
WalesOnline has approached the Welsh Government for a response.
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