Addressing the Senedd, Williams, for the Fflint Wrecsam constituency, said: “You mentioned that all options are open.
“Would you actually consider a takeover by a health board from outside of Wales?”
To which, ap Gwynfor said: “No, I will not even countenance the idea of allowing a health board from outside of Wales to take over Betsi Cadwaladr, because they work to different rules and regulations.
“We’ve got devolution here. We’ve got our own pieces of legislation. The health board answers to this Senedd, to you, the people elected by the people of Wales.”
During the debate, ap Gwynfor said he had put together an intensive support, recovery and turnaround team to take a hands-on approach to bring BCUHB out of special measures and planned to launch a well-led review, led by a panel of health experts.
But Reform Wales’ shadow counsel General Adrian Mason MS, who represents Clwyd, urged the Welsh government to seek outside help to speed up the process.
“Nothing about Betsi Cadwaladr’s performance is acceptable,” he said.
“Patients across north Wales have waited far too long for safe, timely and dependable healthcare, while dedicated front-line staff have been repeatedly let down by failures of leadership and governance.”
He added that Williams was “right to test the minister’s claim that every option remained open”.
“Devolution must never become an excuse for being insular”, he said, adding “the very best clinical, operational and turnaround expertise” should be brought in from across the UK.
“Patients will not care where that expertise comes from – they care whether it saves lives and improves treatment,” Mason said.
He called for ap Gwynfor to “publish the membership and terms of reference of his expert panel”, set clear monthly performance targets and outline the actions to be taken if those targets are not met.
The MS added: “Patients need a successful turnaround, not a constitutional bidding war.
“Bring in the best expertise from across the United Kingdom, keep accountability firmly with the Welsh government, and judge the minister on delivery.”
