North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Health Minister to address failings highlighted in an independent report on Psychological Therapies in North Wales, and to also respond to and act on concerns that public confidence in the North Wales Vascular Service has been severely compromised.
The Welsh Government announced that the Health Minister, Vaughan Gething AM, will be making a Statement on the situation in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) on February 25th.
The troubled North Wales Health Board has been under the direct control of the Welsh Government since it was placed in Special Measures in June 2015.
Speaking in the Business Statement in the Welsh Parliament yesterday, Mr Isherwood called for the Minister’s Statement to address two of the key issues troubling patients in North Wales - Psychological Therapies - where an independent report has identified serious failings, including unacceptably long waits in some areas, a lack of strategic and integrated workforce development, an under-resourced service and a sense of despondency amongst staff -.and Vascular Services.
He said:
“Could I ask you to invite the Minister to ensure that his Statement does address the report on the Psychological Therapies Review in North Wales by the TogetherBetter Collaborative Consultancy, an independent report, because it talks about a lack of shared vision about what you're seeking to achieve, a lack of strategic clarity and oversight at Health Board and Divisional levels, and an enormous data deficit.
“And, worryingly, as the North Wales Community Health Council states, ‘after nearly five years in Special Measures, much of it related to mental health issues, these findings are deeply disappointing. The key recommendations should have been tackled in 2015-16 when the Health Board was first taken into Special Measures. It is unsatisfactory to hear that these fundamental issues still remain unresolved almost five years on’.
“Could you also ask the Health Minister to incorporate specific reference to Vascular Services in North Wales, relating to diseases of the blood vessels, the arteries and veins of the body's circulatory system, where our Community Health Council in North Wales has held four out of what will be 11 ‘Safe Space’ events across the region, and they're hearing ‘clearly that public confidence in the North Wales vascular service has been severely compromised’?
“They say that many people have said that they've written to the Health Board ‘requesting information under Freedom of Information, but have not received anything. The view is that if figures were positive, the Health Board would be keen to release them’, and that the Community Health Council themselves have written requesting performance data and this has also been denied to the Community Health Council on the grounds that it will eventually be provided as part of the Vascular Services review, which, they point out, ‘is in clear breach of the legislation and regulation relating to Community Health Council rights to information’. The North Wales Community Health Council Executive has considered this matter and strongly recommends that ‘a degree of externality’ should be introduced now to the Vascular Review reflecting this.
“These are two of the key issues that are coming up across the region, one of which was the final tipping point in relation to the Special Measures. It is desperately unacceptable that, five years later, we should be hearing reports like this, and I hope you will therefore agree to ask your colleague to address these specifically alongside the wider matters that he may choose to present to us on 25 February”.
