Discussions with the Families of Patients from the Tawel Fan Ward

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:22 pm on 6 February 2019.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:22, 6 February 2019

We were assured that there was going to be a significant pace of change and improvement in mental health services in north Wales as a result of the Tawel Fan scandal, but, of course, we're approaching the four-year mark in terms of the date when the health board was actually put into special measures. And it's certainly beyond the four-year mark in terms of the date by which the initial Ockenden report was received by the board. I'm very pleased that there is some progress that appears to be being made in terms of the strategy now, and also at some of the capital investment that is going in to try to resolve some of the problems at the board. But what does this say about the way in which Welsh Government special measures actually work?

If you recall, we were told that there was going to be a 100-day plan that was going to turn this situation around when Simon Dean was appointed as the interim chief executive of the board. So, the 100 days came and went without any progress. We know that Donna Ockenden, the initial author of the report that exposed the rot in mental health services in north Wales, expressed concerns as recently as last summer—and even earlier this year in the public domain about the lack of progress. And in fact, she was citing staff members who said that the situation had got even worse. When can we expect to see some tangible difference for patients on the ground? Because I'm afraid that the lack of progress has added insult to injury to those families to whom we've been referring today.