A NUMBER of scrutiny committee’s for a south Wales health board are set to merge this month, after three local councils decided to create a single one for the newly formed public services board at Cwm Taf Morgannwg.
The newly merged public service board for the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area has recently replaced the three separate boards for Bridgend County Borough, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Merthyr County Borough Councils in order to reduce duplication and enable more effective joint working to improve well-being for people in the area.
And plans have now been put in place for the scrutiny of that board, which would see five members from Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil come together, at a meeting every quarter to scrutinise its work.
The newly formed committee will soon be expected to scrutinise the board up to four times a year with particular focus on the Well-being Assessment, Well-being Plan and the Annual Wellbeing Report.
It has also been proposed that Rhondda Cynon Taf Council take the lead in the supporting arrangements for the service, due to previous experience they have gained with its scrutiny in the past.
The move comes just months after the watchdog, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, made 40 recommendations to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board after it found ‘significant safety concerns’ in some areas of the mental health services.
The report read: “It is proposed that a Cwm Taf Morgannwg Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee is established comprising of 5 Elected Members from each of the three Local Authorities’ Overview and Scrutiny Committees designated to scrutinise the work of the PSB as required by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, 2015 and based on the political balance of each of those Committees, as far as practical.”
As well as members of the local council, the health board will also be looking for a Bridgend County Borough resident to join the committee from August 2023 until May 2027, with applications to Bridgend Council open until 5pm on September 13, 2023.
