Responding to the First Minister’s announcement that he is to establish an independent review into issues surrounding Operation Jasmine, Aled Roberts Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Older People, said:
“The Older People’s Commissioner, alongside victims’ families, has been calling for a public inquiry into what happened at these nursing homes for some time. I believe it is absolutely right for this independent review to be established.
“The alleged events surrounding what happened at a number of nursing homes in south Wales are absolutely horrendous. Just hoping that similar failings don’t happen again is simply not enough. We need to be told how such a catalogue of failings were allowed to happen and learn from previous failings in the system, so that measures can be put in place to prevent these tragedies happening again.
“The review I hope will not only include in its terms of reference those issues which might inform future policies and legislation in Wales, but also those issues within the criminal justice system which were identified by Gwent Police during the Operation Jasmine investigation.
“I welcome the appointment of Dr Margaret Flynn to lead this review. Dr Flynn clearly has much experience in this field and conducted the important review into the significant failings of care that happened at Winterbourne View Hospital.”
