Health board apologises as Glan Clwyd A&E returns to ‘Service Requiring Significant Improvement’
The emergency department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd has been placed back under a formal improvement designation, less than two years after a previous round of the same scrutiny ended.
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, the body that checks the quality of healthcare across Wales, has designated the department a Service Requiring Significant Improvement.
The designation is the watchdog’s formal signal that it expects urgent change and will monitor the hospital closely until it sees it.
It follows an unannounced inspection in May 2026.
The inspectorate said it had concerns about leadership, governance and the way risk was managed in the department.
Glan Clwyd, in Denbighshire, is one of the three main hospitals run by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which serves Flintshire and the rest of north Wales.
The department was under the same improvement arrangements once before, between May 2022 and August 2024.
The inspectorate said this latest designation showed the improvements made during that earlier period had not been sustained.
Alun Jones, Chief Executive of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, said:
“We have designated the Emergency Department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd as a Service Requiring Significant Improvement following concerns about leadership, governance and the management of risk.
This designation means we expect clear and urgent improvement, supported by stronger oversight and accountability.
While we recognise the pressures facing emergency departments, services must have effective arrangements in place to manage those pressures safely. We will continue to monitor progress closely and will report our full findings in September.”
The health board accepted the findings in full.
In a message to the public, Carol Shillabeer, Chief Executive of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said the decision reflected serious concerns and apologised to patients.
She said the problems related to leadership and culture, patient safety, overcrowding, and the safety and experience of patients waiting for care.
“We are sorry that, in some areas, the standard of care has not been where it needs to be for our patients,” she said.
Carol Shillabeer said a strengthened improvement plan was already being put in place, including measures to reduce overcrowding and to make sure patients receive safe care from the point they arrive.
She said the board would next week consider plans to strengthen staffing in emergency departments across north Wales.
She said the underlying problems of patient flow and capacity could not be solved by the health board alone, and thanked local authorities and partner organisations for their help.
The inspectorate said patients who need urgent or emergency care should continue to attend the department.
The full inspection report will be published in September 2026.
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