Rob Roberts, Member of Parliament for Delyn, urges Members of the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board and the Welsh Government to get on with selecting a replacement long-term Chief Executive.
It was announced yesterday that the current Chief Executive, Jo Whitehead, will be retiring from her post in December for personal reasons after less than two years in the post.
Since the Health Board was established in 2009 it has been plagued by issues and has been subject to a catalogue of damning reports about its failures.
Problems began in 2013 when health and audit watchdogs found a catalogue of management and financial problems. In 2015-18 the board was criticized about its “chaotic” management of the now closed Tawel Fan geriatric mental health unit. More recently, concerns over patient safety have been raised in relation to vascular and A&E services.
Commenting on the announcement, Mr Roberts has said:
“Whilst I am shocked and disappointed at the loss of yet another Chief Executive, personal reasons are just that and in some cases are unavoidable. I would like to thank Jo for her work over the last two years and wish her well with whatever the future holds.
“Problems with the Health Board have been festering for at least a decade, from the time when Mark Drakeford was Health Minister in Wales and our health services in North Wales are still not good enough and, in many ways, going backwards. Although some improvements have been made the Health Board still faces several ongoing challenges, and it’s in extreme need of radical improvement and stable long-term leadership.
“I strongly urge the Board and the Welsh Government to work at pace now to identify and recruit a strong long-term candidate who can hit the ground running, get the problems at the Health Board under control and start delivering a health service that is fit for modern society. But having said that, nothing should be off the table for consideration. When I first met the Chairman and Interim Chief Executive in early 2020 my first question was “is the health board too big”? They were adamant that it was not. But I think this needs to be re-examined. It is the largest in Wales, serving approximately 700 thousand people, it has a budget of around £1.3billion, and 17,000 staff.
“Now is the time to stop shutting down discussions and have an adult conversation about the pros and cons of making structural changes to healthcare in North Wales. In 2019, First Minister Mark Drakeford went on record saying, “he had serious thoughts about breaking up the board… and still could if the conditions were right”. Well Mr Drakeford, now is a good as time as any to re-look at these plans to realistically work out a viable plan on splitting up our colossal Health Board. The ONLY thing in healthcare is outcomes. Currently, both the hard-working staff and the people of North Wales are being let down.”