After details of a report highlighting cases of neglect at a North Wales mental health unit were leaked to the press on Friday, Clwyd West MS Darren Millar is calling for the immediate publication of the full report by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Robin Holden report from 2014 was commissioned by the Health Board after staff on the Hergest mental health unit, which is situated within Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, blew the whistle over management and patient safety concerns.

Darren asked for a copy of the report to be published back in 2015, but the Health Board refused his request, stating “The Health Board has made a decision to withhold the full report but can now provide a redacted version of the summary and recommendations.  The remainder of the report is withheld under Section 41 – information provided in confidence.”

The Information Commissioner instructed BCUHB to publish the report earlier this month, but they again refused to do so.

ITV News has seen a leaked copy of the report and on Friday published some of its findings, including a number of cases of neglect and how many staff feared for their patients.

Darren is now calling for the immediate publication of the report by the Health Board.

He said:

“Given the alarming extracts of the report which have appeared in the media it is now essential that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board publish this report in full.

“The deliberate attempts to stifle its publication are unhelpful and undermine trust between the Health Board and the people it serves.

“It is now clear that there were earlier indicators of problems in the management and leadership of mental health services in North Wales that these were more widespread than we have previously been led to believe.

“The public have a right to know whether scandals such as Tawel Fan could have been avoided and the publication of this report may help to shed a light on these issues.”