Shadow Minister for North Wales and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has condemned the Welsh Government for not addressing identified failings in metal health services in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board over a number of years and has called on them to apologise to patients, families and staff, who he said “were severely let down.”

Speaking in the Welsh Parliament’s Opposition debate on Mental Health this week, which followed the recent publication of the Holden Report, Darren also called for action to address poor mental health care standards in North Wales.

He said:

“There is no doubt whatsoever that the Holden report exposed, as far back as 2013, serious failings in mental health care in North Wales: a culture of bullying and intimidation, staff shortages, patients being neglected, some coming to harm. But it then took until June 2015, for the health board to be placed in special measures by the Welsh Government.

“I don't think that that was sufficiently rapid action and in the intervening period the Welsh Government allowed further patients to come to harm, to be neglected and to be subjected to institutional abuse. That is a matter of fact. And for that, I would have thought it would have been decent enough of the Government to offer an apology to the patients affected, some of whom have now passed away, their loved ones and, indeed, the staff, who were severely let down by the leadership of the health board and the Welsh Government.

“When the health board was placed into special measures, we were told, with great fanfare, that within 100 days there would be significant improvements in mental health care in the region. But that was not the case. Five and a half years later, the health board was removed from special measures, in spite of the fact that there were still huge challenges waiting to be addressed and many of the failings that had been identified by Holden, identified by Ockenden, and identified in HASCAS had not been resolved.

“So, to bury your head in the sand and say that everything is improving when we've had two deaths in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board on mental health units in North Wales over the past 12 months, which could have been prevented if some of the action that was promised had actually been taken, I think, is frankly disgusting.

“You're letting down the people of North Wales. You're letting down the mental health patients. North Wales deserves better.”