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Frontline NHS staff in North Wales are working in a "virtual war zone" led by a board lacking sufficient "medical expertise", according to a retired consultant spearheading a Facebook campaign for more community hospital beds. Jonathan Osborne FRCS, a former ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, is concerned that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) lacks the necessary experience to rectify the situation. Mr Osborne, who criticised A&E waiting times in Bangor , Bodelwyddan and Wrexham , said: “North Wales is full of nightmare stories about health care. Whether it’s a 24-hour wait to be admitted from an accident and emergency department or a two-year wait for surgery, everyone knows someone who has been affected. “Many people, especially the elderly, are afraid of attending hospital, particularly the A&E department, for fear of deteriorating further whilst sitting upright in a hard chair when they feel ill. The most recent figures for Betsi Cadwalader still show it is the worst-performing health board in Wales, and the trend continues to spiral downwards." He continued: "Betsi's board now has no one with any experience of general practice, nor anyone with public health expertise and only one hospital doctor with significant other responsibilities, not least the new medical school in Bangor." "This just isn't enough to provide a health board in such dire circumstances the clinical expertise it so desperately needs. The management team appears to be totally divorced from what is happening in the engine room. "A good example of this was the recent withdrawal of proper meals for patients waiting for days in the A&E department at Glan Clwyd Hospital. "It seems as though no one from the ship's bridge ever visits the engine room, where the teams keeping the engine running are short staffed, working in bad conditions, and having to deal with management edicts that do not make sense to them. "There is a whole tier of middle management who seem to have meetings without outcomes, living in remote offices separated from the reality of life below deck." For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here "Everyone knows that the harassed staff work in a virtual war zone. They are dealing with frightened, rightfully angry patients and their relatives. "They are unable to care for patients safely, or to give them any dignity, particularly when staffing numbers cannot be relied on, with short staffing or dependence on the availability of expensive agency staff." Mr Osborne also raised concerns about the lack of hospital car parking facilities hindering staff efficiency. He pointed out that the accommodation for resident staff at Glan Clwyd hasn't been upgraded since the 1970s and is now substandard. Mr Osborne added: "These are all problems that would be easy to fix, and which would reduce Betsi's ballooning agency bill of around £55m each year, which has almost doubled since 2021. "Agency staff with limited knowledge of the hospital cost twice as much to employ as staff that are directly employed. "When it comes to recruiting medical staff, whole departments are now manned by temporary (locum) doctors. These doctors cannot be expected either to provide leadership nor departmental improvement. "Talented people are put off applying for a position where there appears to be little understanding or support for consultants who want to develop their service. ". Dyfed Edwards, chair of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: "Both our chief executive and I have met with the campaign group and discussed their concerns in detail. We value the opportunity to engage constructively and to listen to the views of others. A representative for the trust also refuted the claims, stating it was "incorrect to say the board doesn't have the appropriate experience in the areas he has stated". She added: "You can see who our board members are and their background on our website."
