In a report published yesterday, Carol Shillabeer, Chief Executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, highlighted serious concerns related to the accounting issues of 2021/22.
These concerns include services that had not been received, legal agreements to incur costs being entered into without appropriate approvals, and the lack of authorisation from the Welsh Government. Such actions had the potential to result in significant financial loss, which represents a completely unacceptable risk. However, it is important to note that no evidence was found in any of the investigations to suggest that money was lost by the Health Board.
These findings, alongside the Audit Wales Board Effectiveness Assessment published in 2023, which highlighted clear and deep-rooted fractures within the Executive Team that prevented the Board from operating effectively during this period, demonstrate a serious disconnect between accounting practices and the overall governance of the Health Board.
Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, expressed disappointment but not surprise at the findings in the report.
Commenting on the Accountable Officer Report, Janet said:
“The extent of concerns and failings contained within the report is unsurprising but deeply worrying. From the lack of transparency to the instability of the Health Board at an Executive level during this time, along with the unauthorised sharing of reports, this clearly demonstrates the level of crisis the Health Board was facing.
“However, this also represents a clear failure on the part of the Welsh Government and its escalation processes. The Health Board should never have been allowed to reach this position, and should have never been used as a political tool, by it being taken out of special measures prematurely.
“When our NHS organisations fail, or are at risk of failure in Wales, we need an independent body, free from political interference by Ministers, to hold health leaders to account and deliver real improvements for patients. As it is them who feel the most impact from the instability of failings.
“It is clear from the report that improvements in financial and information governance have been made, but nobody has been held accountable for the major failings. There also remains a need for s clear strategy for delivery of financially sustainable services, work on creating an effective Executive Team, and some really common sense steps such as ensuring that there is a definitive list of contracts across the Health Board!”
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Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS/AS
