Health board not learning from preventable deaths

Lessons have not been learned to prevent further deaths in north Wales, coroners have told the health secretary.

Over the past year, coroners in Wales wrote 41 "prevention of future deaths reports" and more than half were issued to Betsi Cadwaladr health board.

Health Secretary, Eluned Morgan, said 27 reports issued since January 2023 was "of significant concern".

Betsi Cadwaladr health board said every report was taken very seriously and work was ongoing to respond to key themes.

Ms Morgan said all but three of the deaths happened before the health board was moved back into special measures in February 2023.

The "systemic issues" that emerge as common themes from the coroners' reports include:

• the quality of investigations and effectiveness of actions
• a lack of integrated electronic health records impacting care
• the impact of delays in the system on ambulance response times.

In a written statement earlier this week, Ms Morgan said the health board had given assurances that it was taking the matter "extremely seriously".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 21 March 2024