Senedd: Ministers told to practise what they preach on NHS transparency
The Welsh Government has been accused of hypocrisy over a new NHS transparency drive, with opposition Senedd members challenging ministers to lead by example.
Jeremy Miles, Wales’ health secretary, unveiled plans to live stream public accountability meetings every year with NHS organisations, including the seven health boards.
He also announced more details of NHS performance would be published, including ambulance handover delays measured at each hospital, more timely provisional waiting list figures and clinical outcomes for cardiac arrest calls.
The NHS Wales complaints system is also set to be overhauled from April 2026.
In a statement on Tuesday (October 21), Mr Miles told Senedd members: “Organisations that strive for continuous improvement do not hide behind the high walls of secrecy.”
‘The fish rots from the head’
But opposition politicians urged the Welsh Government to practice what it preaches.
Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor emphasised the importance of ministers leading by example as he warned: “The fish rots from the head.”
He criticised Labour ministers for resisting families’ calls for a Wales-specific Covid inquiry, pledging to establish one if Plaid Cymru wins the next election in May.
“When poor practice exists within an organisation, leadership is crucial in terms of the response required,” said the shadow health secretary.
“That’s why it’s particularly disappointing, in light of the greatest health challenge since the establishment of devolution – namely the pandemic – to see a lack of willingness by Labour to deliver the transparency that the cabinet secretary himself is calling for today.”
‘Five-paragraph plan’
Mr ap Gwynfor also urged the Welsh Government to commit to publishing a report on financial inconsistencies uncovered at Betsi Cadwaladr health board two years ago.
He said his party would set up a professional regulatory body for health service managers, including a register so they could be struck off in a similar way to doctors and nurses.
In response, Mr Miles criticised Plaid Cymru’s “five-paragraph plan” for the health service.
“The argument is that the NHS has a structural problem but I think the challenge is more complex than that,” he said. “The challenge… is that we’re trying to change the culture so that we have a culture that is more open to challenge and to transparency.”
Highlighting new data, Labour’s Jenny Rathbone pointed to stark differences – with average waits for a first urology appointment of 36 weeks in Cardiff compared with eight in Swansea.
‘Corridor care’
James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, called for data on so-called corridor care to show how many people are waiting in corridors. He said: “That would go some way to also making people feel the NHS is more transparent and accountable.”
Mr Miles acknowledged the issue, replying: “Corridor care is one of the areas where I’m working with the health service to be able to publish more of that information.”
Mr Evans questioned whether health boards truly took public views into account, even when consulting, citing examples such as Bronglais and community hospitals in Powys where people felt decisions were “done to them”.
He relayed concerns from bereaved parents through the charity Sands who felt lessons from inquiries, such as the Cwm Taf Morgannwg maternity review, were still not being learned.
Concluding his statement, Mr Miles stressed the ultimate goal, telling Senedd members: “Transparency will drive, ultimately, a cycle of learning and improvement, which we all know will only be beneficial to the NHS and to Wales in the long term.”
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