The Departure of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board's Chief Executive

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:38 pm on 5 February 2020.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:38, 5 February 2020

There were a good deal of comments, but I think there were really only a couple of questions. And, look, just on intervention from the Welsh Government, you can't have it both ways. You can't, on the one hand, say, 'Do more, be more active, get involved', and then, on the other hand, say, 'You're doing too much, get out of the way, let them get on with it'. You can't have it both ways. The challenge is actually how we get people who understand the operational challenges of running and delivering the service, who can deliver on improving the relationships between staff across the organisation and with communities.

And, on your points about Simon Dean, he will have all of the support that he requires and asks for. He will also have the opportunity not just to go in from his own understanding of being the deputy chief executive and working with all of the health boards and trusts within Wales, but his time on the ground, to provide an idea of, if there are additional challenges from that perspective, where the Welsh Government could be helpful or not. But, really, the future plan and the longer-term vision is for the next chief executive to actually deliver, together with the team. We're not looking for Simon Dean to stay within the health board for another year—it's a much shorter interim period I'm looking for, so a new chief executive is in time and has time to actually deliver that vision and to work with the team who are there. And the team isn't just around the executive table; it's around the whole health board.

There are 19,000 people who work for Betsi Cadwaladr, people rooted within their local communities—a source of knowledge, a source of understanding, and, for other members of the community, really important views about where the health board is going. And, actually, it's encouraging that, in the last staff survey, there was significant improvement in people who are proud to work for the health board and actually recognise that the health board was actually starting to improve. Now, that's a challenge that you need to see reinforced time after time. It's the objective evidence from staff themselves. That's hugely important for the wider community, and I look forward to, again, having an entirely honest conversation with people in this place, and when I regularly go to north Wales, about where the health board is, what more needs to be done. And I'm looking forward to the journey through and beyond special measures, because that is what people in north Wales expect and deserve.