WREXHAM hospital staff went from working on covid wards to regular wards without being tested for the virus, it has been revealed.

North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd spoke out about the matter after Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board answered a number issues raised by Wrexham Council's Plaid Cymru Group via the North Wales Community Health Council.

Mr Gruffydd said: "Covid-19 updates from Betsi Cadwaladr health board's management over the past week show that there have been 12 deaths in Wrexham Maelor hospital in just the past five days.

"Questions by Plaid Cymru in the wake of the worrying rise in cases at the hospital have now been answered.

"They reveal that NHS staff who had been working on Covid-19 wards were not tested before returning to non-Covid-19 wards and it took some days for a regime of testing all patients to be introduced despite the rising number of cases.

"The need to separate and isolate all patients either suspected or confirmed as having Covid-19 would seem a fairly basic requirement but the answers suggest that only patients with symptoms were being isolated.

"This is despite plenty of evidence that many cases will be asymptomatic and therefore capable of transmitting the disease.

"It seems a safety first approach has been slow in being adopted, despite the Maelor being the focus for the rise in cases in Wales over the past week or two.

"Why was there not a more radical approach taken to deal with this emerging problem when it was first identified?"

In the letter to North Wales Community Health Council chief officer Geoff Ryall Harvey, seen by the Leader, the health board's deputy chief executive Gill Harris said: "It is correct that we reduced the total number of wards that could provide care for patients who were recovering from COVID-19.

"At this time, there was a reduction in demand for these beds alongside the reducing Hospital prevalence of COVID 19.

"Routine screening is not in place for staff as Public Health Wales guidance states staff are to be tested when they show symptoms of COVID-19.

"Where we have had COVID outbreaks staff have been routinely screened.

"However, all staff have access to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to undertake their duties safely and to protect them from infection risks.

"Patients who are symptomatic and suspicious of COVID-19 are segregated from nonsymptomatic patients.

"Symptomatic patients are swabbed using a rapid test and placed on the appropriate ward that accepts suspected patients until their results are available.

"If a patient is negative they move to a general ward, if a patient is positive they remain on a COVID-19 cohort ward.

"As of July 24, routine testing for all admissions via A&E commenced on the Maelor site."

The issues raised by the Plaid Cymru Group also included an instance of a patient who had contracted covid-19 was told by a doctor that the hospital was "rife" with the virus.

Gill Harris said: "We are not able to comment on individual cases, but acknowledge that the terminology used by our member of staff was less than helpful or appropriate."

The group also raised the issue of cofid and non-covid patients being mixed, as well as covid-19 patients being brought onto a ward where post operative patients were.

Ms Harris responded: "Due to increased swabbing, patients were identified as being positive whilst on Morris Ward.

"As a result, the patients deemed to be non-covid who were on the ward at the time were classed as exposed patients.

"With support of our Infection Prevention colleagues, the ward remained closed and patients were cohorted based on their infection status.

"I can confirm it is not our policy to admit known positive COVID-19 patients to a non-cohort ward.

"Where patients have been swabbed as part of our admission procedure and identified as positive they are then moved to a cohort ward.

"Where this has not been possible patients are then cohorted on the ward based on their infection status i.e. positive and exposed patients.

"There are designated Nurses allocated to both patient groups to minimise the risk of cross infection and PPE is available to staff on all of our wards on a shift basis. Where a patient is located in a designated cohort bay they would only move because of clinical need and would not be mixed with non-COVID patients if they were moved off a ward.

"There are processes in place to monitor this with clear escalation routes."

A Welsh Government spokeman said: “Each individual death associated with Covid-19 is tragic and we have a zero-tolerance approach to healthcare associated infections.

"The operational response to the outbreak at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital site is being led by and is a matter for Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board.

"The Outbreak Control Team is meeting daily and Welsh Government officials are observing.”