Ysbyty Glan Clwyd

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:29 pm on 18 May 2022.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 3:29, 18 May 2022

Thanks very much. Well, of course, Glan Clwyd, along with other accident and emergency departments, are seeing a massive increase in demand, some of which has come as a result of people not presenting themselves during the pandemic and now coming forward. But the situation in Glan Clwyd is worse than in other hospitals, which is why we do need to make sure we shine a light on Glan Clwyd—and nobody's saying that you shouldn't shine a light; my God, if you don't shine a light, I can tell you I'll be shining a light on it. So, it is important that we understand that that leadership and governance, which was part of special measures but is now part of targeted intervention, which is something we are still monitoring, and needs to be improved, which is why we'll be revisiting this when we have a response and the recommendation from the tripartite meeting in June—we'll see what they've got to say in terms of that. I think it's important that people understand that an enhanced hospital management team and an executive presence will be at the A&E department, and there will be an increased use of spot checks in terms of record keeping. It is utterly unacceptable for a situation to be described as 'dirty' in a hospital, especially in the climate in which we are living. It's not a pretty report, and it is clearly something that we need to make sure that they understand the seriousness of what is happening here.

What I can tell you is that Llandudno is already being used as a place where people go to be discharged. So, that is already being used, and I've been to visit—[Interruption.] I've been to visit it, and it is being—. It's quite successful in terms of taking some of the pressure off. And, obviously, if that needs to be continued for a longer term, I'm sure that the health board will consider that. But I do accept that the situation in Glan Clwyd is really in a very difficult situation, and we will certainly be making sure that the health board understand that there is a real urgency now to improve the situation.