“Betsi health board cannot serve people of north Wales in its current form” – Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

Damning report finds leadership of health board “dysfunctional”

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board “cannot serve the people of North Wales effectively”, Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth has said.

His intervention comes after an Auditor General report concluded that the leadership of the health board was “dysfunctional”.

The report found that several board members showed “signs of emotional distress” and that problems were “fundamentally compromising” the health board’s ability to deal with “the significant challenges” it faces.

The health board was taken out of special measures in November 2020 after having been under direct Labour Welsh government intervention for five years – a decision Plaid Cymru criticised at the time as “premature”.

Plaid Cymru’s MS for Ynys Mon and spokesperson for health and social care, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said the report raised “fundamental questions about BCUHB”.

Mr ap Iorwerth said that he did not believe that the health board in its current form could serve the people of the north of Wales and called for a “fresh start”.

Plaid Cymru MS for Ynys Mon and spokesperson for health and care, Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

“This is a very critical report which raises further fundamental questions about BCUHB. 

“Questions about the board’s structures and leadership have damaged this health board for so many years with most of its time in existence having been in some level of special measures. 

“Again, I stress that I conclude that I don’t believe BCUHB in its current form can serve the people of North Wales effectively.  We need a fresh start.