Tawel Fan mental health ward cases quadrupled

Investigators examining "institutional abuse" at a north Wales hospital have said the number of complaints they are probing has quadrupled to 108.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was put in special measures after a report into the Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Denbighshire in 2013.

The ward for elderly people with mental health issues was then closed.

Inspectors have spoken to 86 members of staff and reviewed more than 9,400 documents into the mental health ward.

Two reports - one authored by the Health and Social Care Advisory Service (HASCAS) and one by health expert Donna Ockenden, have looked into the issue.

Since an initial commission in 2014, their task has grown significantly.

Documentation said: "Whilst the initial scope reflected 25 complaints, subsequent investigative processes have increased the number of patient cases being reviewed to 108."

Investigators have interviewed 76 representatives of the older person's mental health service and 73 staff or team members.

They have also interviewed about 40 families, reviewed 400,000 pages of clinical records and 300,000 pages of corporate records.

Eight staff were suspended and four were moved to other duties and the findings of the Ockenden report will be published on 8 March, 2018.

The review is part of an ongoing assessment into the way the health board manages older people's mental health services across north Wales.