6. What assessment has the First Minister made of the effectiveness of Welsh Government intervention in the NHS? OAQ55075

I thank the Member for that. Intervention arrangements are not assessed by the Welsh Government alone. They are the result of the tripartite structure, which includes the Welsh Government, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the Wales Audit Office. That forum meets twice a year to consider a wide range of information and intelligence, to inform the assessment of intervention on which the Welsh Government then acts.

I'm very grateful for your response, First Minister. You'll be aware that we're into the fifth year of special measures in respect of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales. And, in many respects, people feel as though the recent departure of the chief executive is taking us back pretty much to square one in terms of the improvement that we need to see in our mental health services.

You refer to the tripartite arrangements in terms of reviewing the intervention levels for NHS organisations. What consideration is given at those particular meetings when there are reports that are clearly being held by the health board, which are critical reports—there was an independent report done into psychological therapies—that were not shared with either the Wales Audit Office or Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, in order to assist them in informing the Welsh Government, and giving advice to the Welsh Government on the level of intervention in north Wales? I'm very concerned about that. I've had written confirmation that that information was not shared. This is vital if we're to get this organisation in north Wales back into shape, so that it can give patients the level of service that they deserve.

So, what action will your Government take to make sure that, when reports of that nature are published in the future, they are always shared with those organisations that give you advice on the special measures arrangements?

I thank the Member for that. The psychological therapies review, as I said last week in the Chamber, was a review commissioned by the health board itself, carried out independently to make sure that the health board had the best information. And my understanding is that the health board has never intended anything other than that that report will be published once it has had a proper opportunity to scrutinise it and to be ready to respond to it.

And where I agree entirely with Darren Millar is that the report should be published, and then that report must be available to the tripartite meetings that make a judgment on whether an escalation status should be reduced, as it has been in two health boards in Wales over recent time, whether a health board needs further intervention and assistance, or whether to leave things as they are, as they do with seven of the 11 health boards in Wales who are at the lowest level of intervention. To make those judgments, they need the broadest possible range of information, and reports of this sort—once the health board is in a position to publish it, of course, that should be made available to them.