Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has welcomed news that Denbighshire County Council has approved planning permission for an £84.5 million inpatient mental health unit and multi-storey car park at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, but has called for assurances that that the new facility will be coupled with radical improvements to mental health services in the region.

The new mental health unit will be able to take care of 59 patients in four new wards and will replace the current Ablett Unit.

Darren said:

“This new unit is much needed and something I have long been calling for.

“The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was first placed in special measures back in 2015 for failings in mental health services after the Tawel Fan scandal at the Ablett Unit and since that time we have not seen the improvements needed. In fact, only last month it was revealed that the Healthcare Inspectorate found that staffing shortages and poor medication records are still an issue some eight years later.

“It is fantastic news that the new mental health unit has now been given the green light, however a new building alone will not deliver the level of care people need and deserve. We therefore need to see a radical change to the way in which services are delivered and it imperative that the recommendations following inspections by regulators are fully implemented.”

Darren is also delighted that the parking situation at Glan Clwyd Hospital is also set to be improved with a new multi-storey carpark.

He said:

“Parking at the hospital has long been a cause of much frustration for patients and their families, and several years ago I led a petition calling for the parking situation to be improved.

“It has become the norm for patients and visitors to arrive extra early for appointments and visiting times just to secure a space, and each year I receive numerous complaints from people who have missed appointments and loved ones who have been unable to visit due to the lack of car parking spaces.

“I very much hope that the new multi-storey car park will rectify these issues.”