Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, said:
“The headline findings of today’s report will be of little comfort to the families of the patients on the Tawel Fan ward who have been clear that their relatives suffered standards of care that were quite simply unacceptable.
“The report identifies a range of fundamental and systemic failures in the delivery of care to some of our most vulnerable citizens and it is of significant concern that the report concludes that many of these issues are still unresolved or at a relatively early stage of being addressed, even after several years.
“This is unacceptable. Vulnerable people and their families have a rightful expectation that high-quality care will be provided and that those accountable for the provision of health care have a firm grasp of the quality of care being provided and act swiftly and appropriately when failings occur, to ensure that lessons are learnt and mistakes are not repeated.
“I will be writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, raising my concerns in relation to the significant unresolved issues highlighted by the report and to make clear that swift and effective action must now be taken by the Board to properly address these outstanding and ongoing issues.
“The Health Board must ensure that these kinds of failings are never allowed to occur again.
“Furthermore, extensive work is needed to rebuild the trust of older people and their families across north Wales so that they can be assured that patients receiving care within the Health Board are safe, protected and receive the highest standards of care at all times.”
