Accountability Gap
5 articles in this category.
The Failing No One Names: How DHCW Became Welsh Labour's Biggest Liability
Every party in the Senedd is talking about NHS waiting times. None of them are naming the digital infrastructure underneath — the organisation that handles every appointment, every referral, every prescription. That organisation is DHCW. And it is Labour's creation.
He Wrote the Strategy. Now He Marks His Own Homework
Ifan Evans spent 15 years in the Welsh Government, where he helped author A Healthier Wales. Then he moved to DHCW to implement it. Now he reports on whether his own plan is working. In any regulated industry, this would be a conflict of interest. At DHCW, it is the governance model.
Try to Find Who Runs DHCW. You Can't
Directors with no public profile, a salary that ceased to appear in the accounts, and 23 off-payroll workers no one can name. The person responsible for programme delivery at an organisation under government intervention for programme delivery failures cannot be found by anyone outside the building.
An Honorary Professorship, a Fellowship, and an Award — All Before the Programmes Failed
In October 2021, Helen Thomas received a 'Digital CEO of the Year' award at the inaugural ceremony. She had been CEO of DHCW for six months. Within eighteen months of her appointment, she had accumulated an honorary professorship, a BCS fellowship, a professional registration, and an industry award. The programmes she oversaw had accumulated delays, cost overruns, and delivery failures.
Their Own Systems Went Down. Then They Admitted Everything
On the morning of the January 2026 accountability meeting, DHCW's own systems went down. What followed was two hours of admissions that amount to the most damning self-assessment any Welsh public body has delivered in recent memory. Every quote here is on the public record.