A mental health ward where patients were found to have been subject to “institutional abuse” may be demolished.

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is considering razing the Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, as part of major changes to the Ablett unit.

Tawel Fan was closed in 2013 after shocking revelations about the treatment of psychiatric patients. Independent expert Donna Ockenden, who investigated complaints from relatives, upheld their claims that patients were kept “like animals at the zoo”.

Two inquiries were subsequently launched into the scandal, one by Ms Ockenden into whether governance failures contributed to the failings and the other by the Health and Social Care Advisory Service into the impact on individual patients.

By last November the 25 initial complaints had grown to include 108 patient cases.

Both reports were due to be published last month but they have been delayed because of illness among members of the teams.

In February BCUHB chief executive Gary Doherty said everything possible was being done to minimise the delay, with evidence-gathering complete and the authors in the final stages of writing their reports.

In the meantime plans have been drawn up for the complete restructuring of the Ablett unit.

Andy Roach, the Board’s director of mental health and learning disabilities, said: “There are a number of long-standing issues relating to the layout of the Ablett Unit which prevent us from providing the very best care for our patients.

“We have spent over £1m in the past few years to improve the ward environments, but significant further investment is needed to address some of the unit’s structural issues.

“As part of a wider programme of work to update our mental health inpatient estate across North Wales we have developed detailed plans for a redevelopment programme for the Ablett Unit.

“A number of different options are being looked at, one of which would include the demolition of Tawel Fan Ward. We are currently in the early stages of discussions with the Welsh Government regarding progressing these plans.”

The plans include two new 18-bed wards and two other wards with a total of 24 beds.