MP Ann Clwyd disputes Carwyn Jones's 'no NHS evidence' claims
Labour MP Ann Clwyd has defended claims that she has not given the Welsh government facts or evidence to back up her concerns about the Welsh NHS.
First Minister Carwyn Jones told AMs Ms Clwyd had provided "unattributable" comments that "can't be investigated". The Cynon Valley MP agreed the identity of patients had been protected in some cases. But she insisted she had provided Mr Jones with a comprehensive summary of the complaints raised. Ms Clwyd led a UK government-commissioned inquiry on how NHS hospitals in England handle complaints, and said she also received hundreds of letters from Welsh patients outlining poor experiences they had suffered. During First Minister's Questions on Tuesday, Mr Jones said Ms Clwyd had been asked "on more than one occasion" to produce the evidence to back up her claims. He said information she had provided so far could not be investigated because it was "anonymous". Ms Clwyd insists she has provided substantial evidence, but said it was important patient confidentiality was maintained. "As I have explained on a number of occasions, unless people want their names and addresses released then we cannot do it," she told BBC Wales. "We have had several hundred people with complaints about the health service in Wales and the best thing we could do was give him [Carwyn Jones] a list of the kind of complaints that people were making. "I have been on about it for a year. I wrote a very comprehensive letter to Carwyn Jones dated December 10 after a meeting I had with him a couple of days previously." 'Confidentiality breach' Her latest comments come a day after she called for the chair and chief executive of Cardiff and Vale Health Board to resign claiming it released private details on the investigation into the death of her husband Owen Roberts. She claimed he spent 27 hours on a trolley at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales before dying, in 2012. The health board confirmed information about her husband's case was released in response to a Freedom of Information request, but denied breaching confidentiality. It said the details released were statements already in the public domain and were part of the outcome of the investigation, which was completed some months ago. But Ms Clwyd said she had previously refused permission for the information to be released. The MP said she would be making a complaint to the information commissioner and considering legal action.