A Freedom of Information request on the 19,537 Welsh Government investigations into hospital-acquired Covid infections have revealed that three-quarters of them have not even begun.
The disclosure, made by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group show that only 8.3% (1,619) have been completed, with a further 17.5% (3,142) in progress.
The findings are significant given the Group were told a month ago by the First Minister himself that the completed reports should be published as a matter of immediacy, but nothing has been released.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:
“Given a quarter of Covid deaths in Wales were down to hospital-acquired infections, it is only right that bereaved families get the answers they deserve on why this was allowed to happen.
“We need greater transparency from the Labour Government but also far more haste – that three-quarters of the investigations haven’t even started yet suggest this is not a priority for ministers, and that they are content to let people wait years for answers about their loved ones’ deaths.
“Sadly, Mark Drakeford has decided we will not have a Wales-specific Covid inquiry. We must hope that the UK-wide one will coax Cardiff Bay ministers to provide the information we need to scrutinise the Labour Welsh Government’s approach to Covid.”
Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru added:
“There have been failings across NHS Wales and care homes, and we are desperate for change so that other Welsh families do not have the horrific experience we have in losing a loved one, something we have told the First Minister.
“We believed that the nosocomial investigations were a start to ensuring that this happened. However, two and a half years into the pandemic, only 1,619 investigations have been completed.
“The First Minister, when we met with him last month, agreed with us that there was no reason not to start reporting and implementing the recommendations now, but no families have been contacted and there have been no reports.
“With winter approaching it's vital that change happens now.”
Swansea Bay Health Board (HB) has only completed two nosocomial investigation, while Cwm Taf Morgannwg HB has only concluded four, Velindre Trust 16, and Powys HB 38.
Shockingly, the Labour Welsh Government said it “does not hold data on when investigations are completed,” leaving the families in a state of limbo, not knowing how long the answers they are searching for have been out there, if they have been found at all.