A disturbing independent report published last week shed light on patient mistreatment within the Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd hospital in Bodelwyddan.
The independent investigation follow reports of patient abuse at the North Wales dementia ward and highlights a ‘lack of professional, dignified and compassionate care’. It makes a number of horrific conclusions and includes evidence from family members, who talk of relatives treated like ‘captured animals’.
The investigation found that patients were nursed on the floor and were left unsupervised and identified regimes/routine/practice on the ward which may violate individual patients' human rights.
The report's author, health specialist Donna Ockenden, found the concerns raised proven and said they amount to "institutional abuse".
She said there was a lack of action by the senior leadership team on previous reports highlighting specific concerns with the service provided by the health board's Clinical Programme Group (CPG) responsible for mental health services. There was also a lack of systematic review and little evidence of timely actions put in place by the team.
Ms Ockenden said it was also likely there was "significant under-reporting of serious incidents within the clinical areas led by the CPG".
My heart goes out to the patients and loved ones of those whose experiences are relayed in this report; the trauma and harm which they have experienced is truly disgusting.
Patients have been treated like animals and doctors and nursing staff have been guilty of serious breaches of the professional standards that they are expected to uphold.
This report exposes very serious failings in care and sickening mistreatment at the hands of those who patients and their families should be able to trust.
It is clear that the problems on the Tawel Fan ward go back a number of years and the failure of health board staff and local NHS chiefs to deal with issues that were brought to their attention has led to unnecessary patient suffering. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) has said scrutiny at Glan Clwyd Hospital's Tawel Fan ward "failed to detect and respond to the concerns at an early enough point in this case".
The health board has apologised for the "inexcusable and unacceptable" treatment and eight members of nursing staff have been suspended on full pay and a "significant" number have also been transferred to other roles, but this is not good enough. Anyone who's responsible for such poor levels of care shouldn't ever be allowed to look after patients again, and the senior leaders, the managers in this organisation that allowed this to happen should face the sack.
The report is the latest in a series of blows to the people of North Wales in relation to their health service and the situation has become intolerable. We must now see urgent action from the Welsh Labour Government to intervene in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and rebuild public confidence and trust in its services.
These failings should never have happened and we must ensure that hey are never repeated. Given the grave nature of this report’s findings, I believe it is imperative that the Assembly debates this as a matter of urgency. It is for this reason that I have tabled a request for an urgent debate in the Senedd to call on the Welsh Government to root out the problems and find solutions. I have also called for those senior NHS managers responsible to be dismissed.
The problems must be rooted out, solutions found and guarantees provided that this can never happen again – anywhere in Wales.
Labour’s First Minister has publicly waded into the scandal at FIFA, but the people of North Wales are yet to hear from him or his Ministers in relation to the scandal at Tawel Fan - it shows a shocking lack of priorities from the Welsh Labour Government.