The chairman of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has voiced his frustration as it looks set to incur a deficit of £35m this year.

The health board has been in special measures since 2015 and has faced increasing scrutiny over its poor financial performance.

The trust experienced a shortfall of just over £41m in the last financial year and while this year’s figure is expected to be lower, it’s still £10m above the target set by the Welsh Government.

Speaking at a meeting held on Thursday, 5 September, former North Wales Police chief constable Mark Polin said he was not confident it would meet the goal.

Mr Polin, who took up the lead role on the board last year, also expressed concerns after discovering some groups of senior officials set up to come up with savings ideas were failing to meet on a regular basis.

He said: “We currently are not on track to deliver the original deficit target of £25m in part because expenditure is burning more quickly than the savings programme.

“The financial advisor who is retained by me describes a real concern about improvement groups.

“As I understand it, the workforce one hasn’t met, or if it has then it’s only met once.

“Bearing in mind that your expenditure is running through the roof, we’ve got concerns about savings plans.

“I’m not sure what confidence we can gain in the current situation.”

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