Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has hit out at the Labour Welsh Government for failing to get to grips with mental health services in North Wales, despite having almost decade to do so.
Speaking the Welsh Parliament this week, Darren said that patients and staff are still being let down, and referred to S4C's 'Y Byd ar Bedwar', broadcast on Monday which detailed “shocking revelations".
Calling for a statement from the Health Minister update he said:
“Y Byd ar Bedwar, the programme that was broadcast on S4C last night, had some shocking revelations.
"There were members of staff from the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, at the Hergest Unit, who said that they were scared to come into work, that they were frightened from speaking out due to potential repercussions, that they felt there was a lack of support from management, that there were staffing issues on those wards, and that the working environment was toxic.
“In addition there were patients alleging that they were denied the in-patient treatment that they needed.
"These revelations come on top of a report last week that emerged about the suspension of a member of staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, allegedly in relation to WhatsApp messages that were circulated of a patient with dementia who had soiled a bed.
“This clearly does not suggest that the issues in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's mental health services have been resolved. Many people have contacted me with concerns, including relatives who were impacted by the Tawel Fan scandal, to say that they feel grossly let down by the Welsh Government and the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board that these sorts of things are still going on.
“When will the culture in our mental health services in North Wales change? People need to know, and they need to know what action the Welsh Government's Health Minister is going to take in order to turn this situation around.”
Responding, the Trefnydd and Minister for North Wales, Lesley Griffiths MS, said she had not seen the S4C programme but that the Minister for Health and Social Services and her Deputy Minister for Mental Health had.
She added:
“Certainly, the incident you referred to in the Maelor hospital last week is subject to a police investigation. The health board are fully engaged in that investigation, so it's really not appropriate to comment further at this time.
“On the wider issue that you raise around mental health, obviously, the health board is in targeted intervention for its mental health services. Again, I know the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Deputy Minister for Mental Health meet regularly with the health board, as do their officials. There are clear and agreed actions in place, and, again, from my own discussions with the Minister for Health and Social Services, from a Minister for north Wales point of view, I know she is looking at the timeline and whether she needs to bring that forward, to see the improvements that we all want to see.”
Speaking afterwards, Darren said:
“The Welsh Government has had almost a decade to deliver improvements and yet patients and staff are still being let down. It is a disgrace and high time we saw some proper action from Welsh Ministers.”
