Labour Health Minister refuses Plaid call for public inquiry into Betsi Cadwaladr

“With Government refusing call to scrap Betsi, a public inquiry could at least provide answers for patients and staff” - Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

Plaid Cymru has today (Wednesday 8 March) called for a public inquiry into Betsi Cadwaladr UHB.

The calls follow a series of damning reports which lead to the Health Board being put back into special measures, just over two years since it came out.

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, the party’s spokesperson on health and care, and Member of Senedd for Ynys Môn, has repeatedly called for the replacing of Betsi with new, smaller health boards.

But with that call being rejected by Government, he said that a full public inquiry must be established to “protect patients” from long standing problems with the health board, which are yet to be satisfactorily resolved.

Responding to Mr ap Iorwerth in Senedd today, Health Minister Eluned Morgan said “I’m certainly not going to agree with the call for a public inquiry.”

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

“The patients and staff of Betsi Cadwaladr deserve better. Damning report after damning report detailing wrong treatment being given – even amputation, patients dying when they shouldn’t, and to top it off, £122 million going missing!

“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 Government intervention – yet the Health Minister says it ‘wasn’t her job’ to have a grasp on things.

“We’ve called for the health board to be split up – we’ve been told ‘no.’ We’ve called for the health minister to go – we’ve been told ‘no.’ All the while patients and staff continue to be let down, time and time again.

“If the Health Minister won’t share with me my ambition to look forward to a fresh start with new health boards, then we need to have a proper look back to learn more about the lessons that need to be learnt – but she doesn’t want to do that either! We’re going round in ever decreasing circles, and the Health Minister is intent on dragging health in the north down with her.”