Ein cyf / Our ref:   HS/LH/605

Eich cyf / Your ref:   

(:   01248 384910

Gofynnwch am / Ask for:   Geoff Lang

Ffacs / Fax:   01248 384937

E-bost / Email:  geoff.lang@wales.nhs.uk

Dyddiad / Date:   17 July 2013

 

Mr Daniel Collier

Deputy Committee Clerk

Committee Service

National Assembly for Wales

 

daniel.collier@wales.gov.uk

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Daniel

 

Further to your e-mail of 10th July 2013 please find below the information requested:

 

Further detail on the frequency of meetings between the Chief Executive of the NHS in Wales and the Chief Executive and senior management at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board took place.

The Chief Executive is currently on sick leave and also for part of last year, however we can confirm that there were frequent meetings in North Wales, for example 11th and 12th December 2012, 4th February 2013 and 6th March 2013.  We understand from diary records that there were also frequent phone calls and video conferences.  It is also clear from diary entries that David Sissling met with the Acting Chief Executive, Geoff Lang on numerous occasions.  Additionally there were monthly All Wales Chief Executive meetings and various leadership events including the regular Team Wales programme.     

 

Further detail on the frequency of meetings between the Director of Finance at the Health Board and the current and former Finance Director at the Welsh Government.

Martin Sollis was appointed Director of Finance in January of this year and since that time there have been at least five meetings with or involving Martin Sollis.  In addition to this, monthly All Wales Directors of Finance meetings have taken place and also Finance Leadership events and Team Wales events.  Phone calls were made frequently and this frequency increased in the run up to the end of the financial year.  There were also regular meetings with Martin’s predecessors in addition to the monthly All Wales Directors of Finance meetings and frequent phone calls.  

 

Figures highlighting how many patients had their operations delayed as a result of the reduction in the number of elected procedures towards the end of the financial year based on the movement in performance standard.

The Health Board was experiencing significant unscheduled care pressures that resulted in pressures on elective beds and capacity, and affected operational efficiency including cancellations of operations.

 

Elective activity in 4th quarter was lower than had been proposed earlier in the year for a number of reasons, these included:

 

a)        Cancelled operations due to unscheduled care patients occupying surgical beds.  In some areas this resulted in decisions being made on patient safety grounds to not undertake certain procedures but to substitute with day surgery.

 

b)       Decisions to prioritise proposed additional investment to focus on those patients in specialties with highest clinical risk, as not all savings plans for the year had released the additional resource required to support increased activity across all specialties required to deliver access times.

 

c)       Operational unexpected events such as floods in departments, and medical sickness which reduced service capacity.

 

d)       Environmental factors such as flooding and snow resulting patient ability to attend and service ability to staff lists planned.

 

Copies of the external reviews conducted by Chris Hurst in April 2012 and by Allegra in December 2012.

For ease of reference please find attached copies of both reviews as requested.

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide any further information. 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 


HELEN SIMPSON ON BEHALF OF GEOFF LANG

ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE