AN MS has called on the minister for health and social services to make an urgent statement amid claims that a health board attempted to keep its name secret in a case involving ‘substantial’ failures in the care of a mental health patient.

Darren Millar, MS for Clwyd West, called for the statement following reports that a judge had rejected Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s request to hide its name in a case concerning the poor care of a man - aged in his 40s - in January last year.

 

Mr Millar said: “Reports have suggested that the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board attempted to prevent the name of the board being made public following the scandalous care of a mental health patient.

“The judge described the patient's needs as being ‘substantially unaddressed’, ‘unacknowledged’, ‘unidentified’, and ‘neglected’, and yet the Betsi Cadwaladr health board was trying to hide its association with the case from the public.

“I had hoped that there had been a culture change in the organisation in recent years, but this case suggests otherwise.

“For a health board that was in special measures for more than five years for problems with its mental health services, this is totally unacceptable.

“We need an urgent statement from the health minister to determine what action she now intends to take to ensure that the health board is accountable for what has happened.”

Teresa Owen, executive director for public health and executive lead for mental health and learning disability services at Betsi Cadwaladr, said: “Anonymity for all parties within Court of Protection proceedings when there is a transparency order in place is usual practice," she said.

"Last week, the official solicitor who is representing the patient asked the judge to waive the anonymity of the health board in this case.

"The health board did not feel that this was beneficial due to the potential for patient confidentiality issues.

"The judge decided to the contrary, it being in the public interest.”