Betsi A&E corridor care concerns spark calls for urgent action, Wales 2026

Key Points

• Betsi A&E services have come under fire once again following comments from a former surgeon at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Jonathan Osborne, calling for leadership to be changed due to delays in ambulances, long wait times, and treatment being carried out in corridors.
• The BEDS – End Corridor Care in A&E campaign launched by Osborne aims to see community beds brought back and improvements made for those waiting to be treated.
• There were major safety and governance issues discovered in an inspection carried out by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales in May 2026 of the Glan Clwyd Emergency Department. There were some improvements noted in a further inspection but problems still remain.
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board says that plans for improvements are in place and that their emergency departments treat over 500 patients per day.

Wales (Wales Times) October 25, 2026 — Former Ysbyty Glan Clwyd surgeon Jonathan Osborne has called for urgent changes to the board’s leadership over continuing emergency department delays and corridor care, while the organisation says improvement work is under way and the Welsh Government points to an independent leadership review.

As reported by The Leader, Osborne, a former ear, nose and throat surgeon, accused the health board’s leadership of failing to resolve longstanding problems affecting patients across North Wales. His concerns include ambulance delays, lengthy waits for assessment and patients remaining on trolleys while awaiting hospital beds.

The board acknowledged that too many patients were waiting longer than they should. However, it said demand for emergency care and difficulties discharging inpatients were contributing to pressure, and maintained that it was working to deliver safer care and lasting improvements.

Why is Jonathan Osborne calling for Betsi leadership changes?

According to The Leader’s report, Osborne believes the health board has not responded adequately to repeated warnings from campaigners and external scrutiny bodies. He also alleged that spending on management consultants and temporary doctors was being prioritised over patient care. Those are his criticisms, rather than independently established findings in the newspaper report.

The Daily Post also reported Osborne’s demand for accountability, publishing his warning about conditions before winter. He described ambulance delays, uncomfortable waits and patients spending days on corridor trolleys awaiting admission.

“If this is how it is in October, which should be a relatively quiet month, it looks grim for the winter ahead,” Osborne said, as reported by The Leader and the Daily Post.

Osborne also claimed that more than 500 unnecessary deaths occurred in North Wales each year, mainly because of emergency department delays. The cited reporting does not provide the underlying analysis needed to verify that figure or establish the causes of those deaths; it should therefore be understood as an attributed claim, not a confirmed statistic.

What changes has the BEDS campaign proposed?

Osborne established the BEDS – End Corridor Care in A&E Facebook campaign group two years ago. Its membership includes former doctors and nurses, and it has sought to put pressure on both the health board and the Welsh Government.

The group says it first contacted the board about emergency department conditions in 2024. Its wider demands include reinstating community beds, ending what it describes as tragedies in emergency department corridors and reducing deaths associated with delayed emergency care.

According to The Leader, the campaign has also suggested relatively inexpensive measures intended to improve patients’ immediate experience:

• More comfortable seating.
• Regular access to food and drink.
• A buzzer system to alert waiting patients when they are called.
• Better cleaning and maintenance of toilets.
• Bathroom facilities for people waiting longer than 12 hours.
• Additional early-morning staff to address overnight queues.
• More consultant support for junior colleagues assessing patients.

Osborne alleged that recent letters had gone unanswered and that the proposals had not received meaningful consideration at public meetings. He criticised responses to pre-submitted public questions as “corporate non-answers”. The health board disputes the suggestion that it has not engaged with the campaign.

What did inspectors find at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd?

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales provides an independent basis for several concerns about the department, separate from Osborne’s allegations. Its unannounced inspection took place from 5 to 7 May 2026, with the report published on 10 September.

The inspectorate described an emergency department operating under sustained and significant pressure. It identified immediate concerns requiring urgent action and said longstanding risks involving overcrowding, corridor care, patient flow, workforce pressures and dignity had become normalised despite previous warnings and scrutiny.

The department was designated a Service Requiring Significant Improvement because of concerns about patient safety, leadership, governance and its ability to deliver consistently safe and effective care. This designation applies specifically to the emergency department and should not be confused with the wider health board’s special-measures arrangements.

Osborne, as quoted by The Leader, argued that inspections in 2024 and May 2026 demonstrated worsening conditions. He also cited an Audit Wales report which, he said, identified continuing weaknesses in executive accountability, performance management, quality assurance, organisational reform and financial planning. That description of the audit findings is attributed to Osborne in the newspaper’s account.

Have follow-up inspections identified any improvements?

Inspectors returned on 24 and 25 August 2026 to assess progress against the immediate concerns raised in May. Their subsequent statement recorded improvements, while making clear that significant challenges remained.

Those continuing challenges included oversight of patients in waiting areas, delays in obtaining specialist input following medical and surgical referrals, and the need to ensure that recent improvements could be sustained. The follow-up therefore did not amount to a finding that the department’s difficulties had been resolved.

In a statement published on 10 September, health board chief executive Carol Shillabeer apologised unreservedly to patients who had not received the care they deserved. She said actions required by the inspection were under way within the emergency department and elsewhere in the hospital.

Shillabeer also recognised longstanding systemic problems and said the board wanted to embed progress into sustainable change, rather than rely on short-term improvements.

How has Betsi Cadwaladr responded to the latest criticism?

Matt Powls, the health board’s interim chief operating officer, acknowledged the impact of delays in a response published by The Leader.

“We recognise that too many patients are waiting longer than they should in our emergency departments,” Powls said. He reported average attendance of more than 500 patients each day across the board’s emergency departments, alongside difficulties achieving timely discharge for hospital inpatients.

Powls said improvement plans were being implemented across all emergency departments. He described the board’s priorities as safe, effective and compassionate care, better performance and improvements for staff, patients and communities throughout North Wales.

Responding to the campaign’s criticism of engagement, he said the board had engaged with the group, valued the views of patients and stakeholders, and continued to listen to suggestions about improving services.

What is the dispute over executive departures?

Osborne alleged that several senior figures were leaving, naming the vice-chair, chief nursing officer, chief operating officer and finance director roles. He characterised the situation as a leadership failure and claimed remaining executives were unable to act effectively.

The health board offered a different explanation. Powls said executive changes involved colleagues retiring or finding other opportunities, and that posts were again filled to maintain continuity of leadership. The reported departures therefore do not, by themselves, establish Osborne’s wider characterisation of the organisation.

Osborne urged health and care minister Mabon ap Gwynfor to intervene and put capable people in charge. He called for consultants and GPs to have greater influence over service changes, possible restructuring and fewer middle-management posts. His claims about potential savings were not accompanied by a detailed financial assessment in the cited report.

He also criticised what he described as a further two-year reprieve from the First Minister, arguing that North Wales residents should not face continued community-bed closures or the loss of experienced clinical staff. Those statements represent his assessment of the board’s position.

What action has the Welsh Government announced?

A Welsh Government spokesperson, quoted by The Leader, acknowledged pressure on emergency care and said long waits, ambulance delays and overcrowding were unacceptable. The spokesperson said the government was focused on improving patient flow and access to timely, safe treatment.

The spokesperson referred to direct action announced at the end of June by the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, describing it as a serious intervention responding to persistent, unresolved concerns.

An independent panel is carrying out a “well-led review” and is expected to provide evidence-based recommendations to the minister. NHS Wales Performance and Improvement is also undertaking specific work relating to quality and performance.

“We expect sustained action from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board which shows clear, tangible improvements for the people of north Wales,” the spokesperson said.

What is the background to the Betsi A&E development?

The latest criticism follows an extended period of scrutiny of emergency care at Glan Clwyd. The department previously held the Service Requiring Significant Improvement designation between May 2022 and August 2024, according to Nation.Cymru’s reporting. Its renewed designation in 2026 marked a further setback.

The May inspection, August follow-up and September publication provide the immediate background to Osborne’s October intervention. Together, they show that inspectors identified serious problems, subsequently recognised progress in some areas, but continued to require stronger assurance that improvements would last.

The BEDS campaign’s proposals sit alongside that formal scrutiny. While campaigners emphasise community-bed capacity, practical support for waiting patients and leadership accountability, the board and government point to improvement programmes, discharge difficulties and independent review as central parts of their response.

Prediction: How could this development affect North Wales patients?

For patients, families and frontline staff, the outcome will depend on whether announced actions produce measurable improvements rather than further commitments alone. The inspectorate’s continuing concerns identify waiting-area oversight, specialist referral delays and sustainable change as important tests.

If improvements in patient flow and discharge are sustained, patients could experience fewer delays and less reliance on corridor care. However, the evidence reviewed does not establish when that might happen or justify a numerical forecast for reductions in waiting times. The board itself identifies discharge challenges as a contributor to current pressure.

The leadership review could also inform changes to management and accountability, but its recommendations and the minister’s response cannot be presumed. For North Wales residents, the immediate position remains that improvement work is under way, serious concerns persist and further scrutiny is continuing.