Statement in response to HIW report: Kris Wade
Monday, 28 January 2019
Read a statement from ABMU Chief Executive, Tracy Myhill:
ABMU Chief Executive, Tracy Myhill said:
Our hearts go out to the three women who were sexually assaulted by Kris Wade while they were under our care. We again apologise sincerely to them for his abhorrent actions, and continue to offer them any ongoing support they might need.
We also extend our sympathies to the family of Mr Wade’s neighbour, whom he murdered while on long-term (three years) suspension from work; while his assaults were being investigated, and subsequent disciplinary proceedings were underway.
Much has changed since Mr Wade was first employed by the former Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust over 15 years ago. There are now much stricter recruitment and employment processes in place both at a local and national level. However we agree with HIW that even more can be done.
The HIW report calls for improvements to DBS checks at an all-Wales level. While a check would not have made a difference to Mr Wade’s employment, we agree that more robust DBS procedures can only improve patient safeguarding generally.
In line with national practice, all our new staff with jobs involving patient contact receive DBS checks before they start work, along with staff who move internally to these roles.
We can also give assurances there has been improvements in how we deal with safeguarding incidents and concerns: improvements in how they are reported and investigated; improvements in how concerns are escalated; and a wider sharing of any lessons learnt. Patient safety is really important to us and an area in which we are continuously improving and learning.
A key action has included the development and introduction of a Personal Relationships at Work policy which has been done in partnership with our staff groups and trade union representatives.
We are also putting in place three investigating officer posts to assist with any future disciplinary investigations. This is in addition to the health board’s specially trained Serious Incident Investigation team which is already in place.
Link to the HIW media release and report.
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