2. Will the First Minister make a statement on transparency within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in dealing with enquiries from the public? OAQ54134

I thank Llyr Gruffydd. For every enquiry from the public raising concern or complaint, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board receives nearly three communications expressing thanks and appreciation. I expect all health boards to be open and responsive to all forms of enquiry, whatever their nature.

Back in October, one of your Ministers wrote to a man who had lost his mother, following her stay on the Hergest mental health ward in Bangor. The Minister for Health and Social Services said that he expected the response to the inquiry from the health board, and I quote, to be:

'a transparent and thorough investigation process'.

Now, in the spirit of your response to my initial question, that inquiry is ongoing, but the family are concerned that the health board is refusing to be open and transparent in answering questions. The board, for example, is accused of hiding behind section 42 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which allows them to refuse to share information if they have received legal advice to see whether the law has been broken. Now, would you accept—again, in light of what you said a moment ago—that using that rationale would mean that a health board could avoid sharing information, with, in this context, a son who is seeking justice as a result of the death of his mother in a mental health ward? Do you agree, therefore, that such a situation is not fair, and do you agree with me that we should look anew at this clause that allows the health board to evade transparency, in order to ensure the process is more open for the future?

Well, Llywydd, I look to each health board to be open and transparent when they respond to complaints. Sometimes things are complicated. I'm not familiar with the detail of the case that Llyr Gruffydd is alluding to this afternoon. Sometimes there are things that we are unaware of, and it's only those who deal with the details are familiar enough with what has happened and who can therefore come to conclusions. As the Member has said, the Minister has written to him already about this case, and if there is more to be said, I'm certain that another response will be on its way following his question this afternoon.

I'd like to thank Llyr Gruffydd AM and endorse the very concerns that he's raised here. First Minister, in the statement you made when you were in the previous role, on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in special measures, on 9 June 2015, you stated that,

'the fifth and final priority I have identified rests on reconnecting the public with the board, and the board regaining the public's confidence.'

Now, in my book, to have confidence, you need transparency of process. Now, the Minister is fully aware of a case that I have been dealing with, which has seen a constituent who—let's just say it was one of the situations where something went wrong, very wrong, within the health board. Now, he's been waiting around eight months for a response to a serious incident review. Now, after such a delay, you would have expected all the inquiries to be addressed, and there to be a transparent thread through all the actual points raised by the constituent and his family. However, after a not very good response coming through, the family, and I, have now had to turn to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, to ensure that there's some redress for this family in things that went very, very, sadly, wrong. Such a signal should be a signal to you, First Minister, that your fifth and final priority is still not being achieved. So, will you therefore explain what measures you will take to ensure there is more transparency and, indeed, more accountability when dealing with any complaint going in about the quality of healthcare that a patient has received in a health board that you, technically, as the First Minister, are responsible for?

Well, Llywydd, I don't think it's sensible ever to try and read general lessons from specific cases. The Member is right that I am familiar with the case that she has drawn to my attention, and it has been a difficult case. If the family believe that reference to the ombudsman is the best course of action open to them, then, of course, that is a course of action available to patients and to families here in Wales. I believe that the state of relationships between the board and the population that it serves is different to how it was when we entered special measures. The board itself has made real efforts in that regard—attendance by health board senior staff at public events, working with Public Health Wales and the well-being of future generations Act commissioner to find new and innovative ways of engaging with the public. When, last week, we published the results of public responses to public services here in Wales, satisfaction rates with health services in Betsi Cadwaladr—with 93 per cent of residents of Betsi Cadwaladr saying that they were satisfied with the services that they provided and received in primary care, and 95 per cent of that local population saying that they were satisfied with the services they received in secondary care—were above the national average, and I think that they reflect the general effort the board has made to re-cement the relationship it has with its public.