Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) is Wales’s largest health organisation, with a budget of over £1.8 billion and a workforce of over 19,000 staff. The Health Board provides primary, community, mental health and acute hospital services for the population of North Wales.
BCUHB provides a full range of primary, community, mental health, acute and specialist hospital services across three acute hospitals, 22 community hospitals and a network of over 90 health centres, clinics, community health team bases and mental health units. BCUHB also coordinates or provides the work of 96 GP practices and the NHS services provided by dentists, opticians and pharmacists across the region.
The Health Board is an integrated health system that strives for excellent, compassionate care delivered in partnership with the public and other statutory and third-sector organisations. BCUHB has a developed relationships with the universities in north Wales and with the University of Bangor, is seeking medical school status and operates in a research-rich learning culture.
BCUHB has a challenging history and recently, at the start of March 2023, was returned to the highest level (Special Measures) of the NHS Wales Escalation and Intervention Arrangements. This significant decision followed the tripartite group of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Audit Wales and Welsh Government officials’ meetings in November 2022 and January 2023 to specifically discuss concerns about the service delivery, quality and safety of care and organisational effectiveness at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. This decision reflects serious and outstanding concerns about board effectiveness, organisational culture, service quality and reconfiguration, governance, patient safety, operational delivery, leadership and financial management.
As a result, there is now a new interim Chair and Chief Executive in post, alongside three interim and four fixed term Independent Members, with others being recruited. With support from Welsh Government, this is an opportunity to reset the organisation, bringing new leadership which will take BCUHB forward towards sustained, improved performance. Given the scale of the organisation, and its well-established integrated approach, BCUHB is well-positioned to deliver genuine transformation in services and population health.
Good leadership changes organisations daily: working in partnership, the leadership team, in which this role is pivotal, will create the conditions for the successful delivery of high-quality and effective health services, enabling BCUHB to contribute to its communities as it aspires.
This is a distinctive moment for BCUHB to move forward after its recent challenges. This role represents a unique opportunity for a dynamic and innovative People leader to join an organisation turning a corner, to bring BCUHB together to transform, improve and innovate, and to deliver the best possible care to its communities.