Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board hasn’t been “properly prepared” for winter pressures and its winter plan is “simply not good enough”, a North Wales Assembly member has claimed.

Betsi Cadwaladr hospitals, like most hospitals across Wales, have been hit with severe problems in providing beds, with demands described as “exceptional”.

But Clwyd West Welsh Conservative AM Darren Millar has insisted that Betsi Cadwaladr has failed to plan bed numbers properly.

He said: “Common sense dictates – and history shows – that with harsh weather comes increased demand.

“All health boards are fully aware of this and should be properly prepared to deal with it, yet there is chaos within our hospitals at this time of year, every year.

“Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has been in special measures almost five years now.

“It was originally told the measure would last for two years, but it has repeatedly missed agreed targets for improved standards and this latest fiasco will do nothing to help its case.

“Undoubtedly frontline NHS staff at all hospitals here in North Wales consistently do their very best to help us – even when the going gets tough.

“Betsi Cadwaladr owes it to them and their patients to ensure that they are properly prepared to deal with the additional pressures that winter brings. The plan put in place this winter is simply not good enough.”

A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: “Our winter plans are based on previous demand and with intelligence from Public Health Wales.

“This year we have seen a significant increase in the number of seriously ill people attending our emergency departments. This means that patients will have a need for longer lengths of stay.

“Our staff are working extremely hard to ensure as many people as possible access the care and treatment they need, and have full faith in their expertise in balancing unscheduled demand and planned surgical procedures.”

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