The Shadow Minister for Health has demanded an end to the culture of secrecy and mismanagement within the Assembly’s Department for Health and Social Services.
His call follows the emergence of a critical report into the NHS that the Health Minister had previously told AMs did not exist.
Details of correspondence relating to the McKinsey report have been repeatedly sought by the Shadow Minister under the Freedom of Information Act.
They have still not been answered.
This latest fiasco follows the Welsh Assembly Government’s Stakeholder Survey in July, in which only 24% of respondents thought the Department for Health and Social Services was well managed.”
South Wales Central AM, Andrew RT Davies, said: “This culture of blatant mismanagement and secrecy must come to an end immediately.
“How can we allow a Health Minister to tell AMs a critical report does not exist, when it so obviously does?
“Only a few months ago WAG’s own stakeholder survey quoted just half of respondents as believing the Department of Health & Social Services openly shared information. Only 13% believed that different parts of the Department work well together.
“How can health professionals across Wales have confidence in the Assembly Government when this kind of sloppy management is allowed to continue?
“Our health service is currently going through a period of excessive cuts and reorganisation. Its staff need a Health Department they can trust. This is not it.
“There is a staggering absence of transparency within this department which must be addressed. My own FOI request for all emails, letters and minutes of meetings between the Health Minister and consultants McKinsey & Co. has still not been answered.
“It was sent in June and has now been delayed yet again. Cynics might think that the time limits for FOI responses were being deliberately broken to avoid being held to account for failures in the management of the National Health Service.”
