REPRESENTATIVES from Betsi Cadwaladr have hit back at Flintshire councillors in defence of the University Health Board at a scrutiny meeting at County Hall on Monday (February 10).

Following her own “horrific” ordeal at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Buckley councillor Carol Ellis put forward a notice of motion to all Flintshire County Councillor’s two weeks ago.

The motion called upon the council to support calls for Welsh Government to step in amid growing criticism of the region’s health board – particularly in regards to capacities and A&E performances.

But while no official word has come of yet from the government, Betsi Cadwaladr have taken the opportunity to defend themselves at a scrutiny meeting – leading to Cllr Ellis saying that “the proof will be in the pudding.”

Speaking to the Leader after the meeting of the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Ellis said: “I’m very appreciative for Betsi Cadwaladr’s response.

“I look forward to seeing an improvement on behalf of the residents that we represent because at the moment we’re not seeing that.

“There’s an awful lot of improvements that need to be made, but at least they did admit that they acknowledge the problems.

“But the proof will be in the pudding, won’t it, with what improvements are made after this.”

During the meeting, Mr Mark Polin, Chairman of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “We note that the motion is aimed at Welsh Government and not at Betsi Cadwaladr, but we will respond to it.

“To the first point (asking if there is sufficient capacity in Wrexham Maelor, Glan Clwyd and the Countess of Chester hospital), we say probably not.

“The capacities at these sites is not what it should be, but there is pressure being felt at sites all around the country, and that’s why the government is quite rightly focusing on a healthier Wales.

“Flintshire doesn’t need its own hospital, but it needs other surrounding health providers such as Wrexham Maelor and Glan Clwyd to perform at their optimum levels.

“I can say no more other than the organisation struggles to deliver improvements to the system at the same time as cutting costs as is expected of us. But we are in discussions with Welsh Government to see what services they can offer us.”

Councillor Paul Cunningham described several of his own recent experiences at Wrexham Maelor – three of which he said were positive.

However, his other two visits to the hospital resulted in 12 and 20 hour waits, leading him to ask the BCUHB representatives at the scrutiny meeting to ask how long it is acceptable to leave patients waiting before assigning them a bed or discharging them.

In response to this, Jill Harris, the Director of Nursing and Midwifery at BCUHB, said: “Those times depend completely on the condition of the patient, but we don’t want anyone there for any longer than necessary.

“We know there are capacity issues, and we are working to address those.”

Imran Devji, the Managing Director of Wrexham Maelor Hospital, gave further clarity to the councillors about the waiting process.

He added: “We are aware of the capacity issues, but it is all about seeing patients right the way through consistently.

“We’ve looked at every hour of every day for the past five years and we’ve decided to spread our nurse staffing out on a more 24/7 basis to ensure consistency.

“In November, 57 extra spaces were created through our Acute Medical Unit and this has really helped us. This time last year we had between 85 and 90 people waiting, but that is now down to about 50.

“We also have regular meetings for senior members of staff to give a helicopter view of how the hospital is operating, while our screens give the staff on duty all the patient information they need, including how long they have been waiting for.”

In summary, Simon Dean, who was recently appointed the interim BCUHB executive, said: “These problems are about the whole system which treats people and gets them home.

“It is a system wide issue that is being seen all around Wales, as well as in England and Scotland. We are an ageing population, and that should be a measure of our success as people are living longer.

“It’s not just a health care issue as there are several elements which contribute to it. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we know we have something to build on.

“This isn’t about any one individual, but about 16,000 members of staff across BCUHB and its partners.

“It’s important that Flintshire County Council have recognised he importance of the issues that have arisen because no health board can do this alone.

“We want to build on the strengths of out system, and I’m confident of us making progress in a number of areas.

“In the short term, we want to make improvements which people will be able to clearly see, but we also want to build a sustainable system for the long term.”