THE Chief Executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Jo Whitehead, has said it is “most disappointing” that areas highlighted for improvement at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd have still not been addressed.

It comes after a report by Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) released on Monday (August 8) gave details of areas in which the responsible health board, Betsi Cadwaladr, had still yet to make improvements by the time of a surprise inspection in May.

This follows "patient safety concerns" identified at the Bodelwyddan hospital earlier in the year, with an inspection of its A&E service back in March finding that vulnerable and severely ill patients were being left unchecked for hours at a time, and vital risk assessments were missed.

As a result, the emergency department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was identified as a Service Requiring Significant Improvement (SRSI).

Some of the issues highlighted in the report surrounded the effectiveness of monitoring and escalating unwell or deteriorating patients, while HIW also noted that the quality of the nursing documentation "fell far short of the required standard" and found evidence of "poor management of health and safety risks."

MORE: Rhyl patient reveals agonising two-year wait for new hip

The report also found that the quality of management and leadership at Glan Clwyd was "not sufficiently focused and robust", with HIW adding it was concerned to find that the arrangements for oversight had not enabled the health board to pick up on issues previously identified.

IN response to a second damning report, Chief Executive Jo Whitehead said: “As I said after publication of HIW’s remote quality check, this latest report shows some patients have received a standard of care well below what they, and we, expect.

“I apologise unreservedly to those patients who didn’t receive the care they deserve.

“It is most disappointing to see areas highlighted by the remote quality check had not all been addressed by the time of the unannounced inspection, some two months later.

MORE: Lack of care staff contributing to bed blocking in Denbighshire

“I have made several visits to speak with our hard working staff in the department, to discuss how we can better support them to do their jobs more effectively, as we all have a shared responsibility to get this right.

“Clinical staff have been under immense pressure and often understaffed. Our improvement approach seeks to enable staff to be open about the pressures they are under and the things preventing them from giving the care we all want to provide and for us all to provide the support required to put things right.

“Managers and leaders, alongside all those on the front line, have a responsibility to escalate issues quickly and effectively in the interests of patients.

“We have been working hard since the initial remote quality check to put systems in place which help our Emergency Department function in a smarter, more proactive way.

MORE: MP expresses deep concern about healthcare provision across North Wales

“A new computerised patient tracking system, support for the Emergency Department from acute clinicians of all specialties, the opening of the refurbished Ward 10 and a planned ambulance reception centre will help us to drive the change which is needed, and we continue to make more improvements.

“For example, the SDEC will be open for seven days. All of this has meant on average, waiting times for clinical triage is showing signs of improvement.

“Staffing continues to be an issue but we are committed to recruiting the permanent staff we need to ensure patients get the best possible emergency care, which is what happens in the vast majority of cases and of course, I sincerely thank staff for their continued hard work.”