“Illegal drugs” have been found in staff lockers at Wales’s largest hospital with “no consequences”, a review has found.
Reviewers heard examples of people behaving in a “dysregulated way”, such as engaging in “outright criminal behaviour including theft and illegal drugs”.
A report published on Wednesday found female members of theatre staff at the University Hospital of Wales were unable to leave “anything of value in the changing room due to the regularity of the theft”.
The review noted examples of “money, phones, computers and clothing going missing”, which had “created an atmosphere of fear”.
The health board in charge of the hospital apologised following the findings and vowed to make “urgent improvements”.
The comprehensive review of theatres at the Cardiff hospital was commissioned by the health board’s chief operating officer and carried out by two senior colleagues, after the results of an internal staff survey last summer.
Comments made by staff in that initial survey were “concerning” and related to “conduct issues, poor behaviour and gave a clear perception of a disengaged workforce with low morale”, according to the report.
The review, which concluded on 29 April, made 66 recommendations relating to areas including patient safety and theatre efficiency.
It found a perception among staff that there were “no consequences for poor behaviour”.
Over a third of theatre staff took part in the review, and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board acknowledged it had “uncovered a number of concerning themes”.
‘Damning’
Andrew RT Davies, a Conservative Senedd member for South Wales Central, said the review’s findings were a “damning indictment” of the Welsh government’s record and that “criminality and chaos” had been “tolerated”.
Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru’s health spokesperson, described the report as “damning and serious”.
Speaking in the Senedd on Wednesday afternoon, Welsh health secretary Jeremy Miles said the findings of the review were “shocking”.
“I’m planning to meet very soon with the chair of the health board,” he said.
“I know that they are taking the report seriously. I also know there are steps already under way.”
In a joint statement, the health board’s chief executive Suzanne Rankin and chief operating officer Paul Bostock said the board would “consider the findings” and develop a “detailed action plan to make urgent improvements”.
They added that, of the more than 30,000 surgical procedures carried out in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan annually, the number of incidents was “proportionally very small”.
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Ms Rankin and Mr Bostock were “pleased” the report acknowledged “many of the highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable individuals who work within the theatres department”.
“It is important to us as a health board that we retain the trust and confidence of patients and their loved ones who put their health in our hands and rely upon us to do no harm,” they added.
“We are very sorry for the distress and concern this will cause, and we want to reassure the public that we will take the necessary steps to address the concerns raised.”
