Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has expressed his "deep concern" at last week's announcement that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which covers Llangollen, is to remain in Special Measures, but said it comes as no surprise.
The troubled health board was first placed in Special Measures back in 2015 due to serious concerns about governance, leadership, and the quality of care.
It remained in this position for over five years before moving to Targeted Intervention in November 2020, shortly before a Senedd election.
It was subsequently placed back into Special Measures in February 2023 and has now spent longer in Special Measures than any other organisation in the history of the NHS.
Commenting on last week's announcement, Mr Millar, who days earlier called for an independent body to make decisions about special measures and intervention in the Welsh NHS, rather than politicians, said: "Last week's announcement that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will remain in Special Measures will come as no surprise to the people of North Wales.
"They know from their own personal experiences, and those of loved ones and friends, that the health board is failing on many levels and has been for years.
"It was first placed in Special Measures, and therefore under direct control of the Welsh Government, back in 2015 and this latest announcement has confirmed that the situation is no better all these years on.
"Patients, families and frontline staff deserve so much more than promises and reports. We are demanding action and improvement.
"Only days before this announcement, it was reported in the press that an elderly patient died in an Emergency Department corridor in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd - on her own and in view of other patients. The situation is simply barbaric.
"As I recently stated, with Welsh Government Ministers responsible for making decisions about intervention arrangements, politics often comes first. I want patients to be put first instead.
"An independent decision making process is needed to remove the politics, deliver rapid improvement, and give patients the service and care that is currently lacking."
Mr Millar added: "We have wonderful staff working in our NHS here in North Wales, but like the patients they serve, they are being let down.
"Special measures are meant to be a wake-up call for improvements, not a permanent state."
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