THE Health Board has been criticised for spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on new managers instead of much needed services in the face of £30million debts.

Cash-strapped Hywel Dda Health Board will appoint three new management level staff in the next year at a cost of £220,000 a recent Chief Executive, Steve Moore, report indicates.

The role of Director of Finance and Planning will be split into two separate positions, with incumbent Karen Miles taking on the role of Director of Planning (Performance and Commissioning).

A Director of Primary and Long Term Care post as an Associate Board Member will be put in place as well as a new Director of Therapies and Health Sciences.

The report also states that Libby Ryan-Davies has been appointed as “Transformation Director”.

Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies, who has raised concerns about cuts to services at Withybush Hospital many times, the latest being the temporary reduction of paediatric cover for the whole county, said there was no need for more directors.

Mr Davies said: “With over £30m of debt, Hywel Dda University Health Board does not need more directors, especially when they come with a £200k price tag.

“The health board should be spending every penny on improving patient experience, especially as frontline services come under increasing strain as we enter the winter months.

“With the special care baby unit already closed and paediatric service opening times further reduced, service users will rightly question whether these appointments are offering proper value for money.”

Mr Moore’s report, discussed at a health Board meeting on November 24, states that the extra management posts are required because “if we are to secure the opportunity to return this organisation to a firmer footing, we need the strongest possible team around the Board table”.

The report also provides an update on the health board’s “escalated status” with the Welsh Government from ‘Enhanced Monitoring’ to ‘Targeted Intervention’.

“This move recognised that the organisation has faced some long standing challenges and signals Welsh Government’s strong desire to help the Health Board resolve these,” states Mr Moore.

A Director if Nursing, Quality and Patient experience and Director of Public Health are also being recruited.