Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:35 pm on 8 March 2023.
Of course, the Minister is absolutely right that this is a step—putting it in special measures—that needed to be taken now. Of course it should have been in special measures. But the question is why we have a board that has, for eight years, needed to be in special measures. If the Minister won't share with me my ambition to look forward to a fresh start, with new health boards, how about having a proper look back to learn more about the lessons that need to be learnt? One former independent member of the board, effectively sacked last week, a highly respected individual, has suggested that there is more than enough grounds to have an independent inquiry now—the fraud investigation, the maladministration, the poor oversight of major contracts worth millions of pounds. They say they're convinced that the recent Audit Wales report in itself offers enough grounds for that. Eight years of a failing health board means eight years of poor staff morale, and I feel for every one of them. It means eight years of a population poorly served. We need to know what's been going on for those eight years and more, so we can protect the public. Will the Minister agree to my call for a public inquiry?