Governance
Plaid Cymru will review governance of the NHS in Wales, looking to strengthen oversight and accountability so that patients receive a better outcome. Crucially, this doesn’t have to mean expensive or disruptive root-andbranch restructuring of our health service. Rather, we will focus on small but significant cultural changes – streamlining and standardising targets, making lines of accountability clearer and recruiting managers with more specialist and relevant knowledge.
Our reforms would mean that the special measures status of health boards in Wales would more accurately reflect health outcomes rather than being open to political influence from the Labour Welsh Government. Equally, we support greater independent oversight of health board managers.
We would also introduce a regulatory body for Senior Health Managers. Medical staff are accountable to their regulatory bodies, such as the GMC, but the same is not true of senior health managers.
Establishing a regulatory body for managers would help improve patient safety and empower staff by ensuring that every decision reflects the values of candour, honesty and integrity.