Campaign for Responsible Leadership in NHS Wales

Write to Your MS

How to contact your Member of the Senedd about failures at Digital Health and Care Wales — with letter templates and practical guidance.

Why Writing to Your MS Matters

Members of the Senedd represent relatively small constituencies. Wales has just 60 MSs, and even a handful of letters on the same subject will register as a significant issue. Unlike petitions or social media posts, a personal letter from a constituent demands a personal response. MSs are obliged to engage with the concerns of the people they represent.

Individual constituent letters remain the single most effective form of political pressure available to ordinary citizens. They cannot be dismissed as organised lobbying. They cannot be ignored without political cost. When multiple constituents write independently on the same subject, it tells an MS that a real problem exists — one that voters care about and will remember.

DHCW is a Welsh Government-owned body spending hundreds of millions of pounds of public money. The Welsh Government escalated DHCW to Level 3 intervention — the highest possible level — across all 9 programme areas in March 2025. That intervention remains in place. Your MS has a direct responsibility to scrutinise how that money is being spent and whether the leadership of DHCW is fit for purpose.

With Senedd elections on 7 May 2026 and the Senedd dissolving on 8 April 2026, now is the moment when your voice carries the most weight.

Find Your MS

You can find your constituency MS and regional MSs using WriteToThem, a free, independent service:

www.writetothem.com

Enter your postcode and you will be shown your elected representatives, including your Members of the Senedd. You can write to them directly through the site, or use the postal or email addresses provided.

You have one constituency MS and four regional MSs. You are entitled to write to all of them, though your constituency MS is usually the most appropriate first contact.

Letter Templates

The templates below are starting points. Use your own words wherever possible — personalised letters are taken far more seriously than identical copies. Change the details to reflect your own experience and concerns.

Template A: General Constituent Concern

Dear [Name of MS],

I am writing to you as your constituent in [your area] to raise serious concerns about the management and leadership of Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), the Welsh Government body responsible for NHS digital services.

In March 2025, the Welsh Government escalated DHCW to Level 3 intervention — the highest possible level — across all 9 of its programme areas. This is an extraordinary measure, indicating the most serious failures of delivery and governance.

At a public accountability meeting in January 2026, the CEO of DHCW, Helen Thomas, admitted: "We don't have an ROI on all of our investments." This is a body that has received hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money. The fact that its chief executive cannot demonstrate what that money has achieved is deeply troubling.

Despite this level of failure, no one in DHCW's senior leadership has been held accountable. The same people who presided over the failures remain in post.

I would like to know:

  1. What steps are you taking, as my elected representative, to scrutinise DHCW's leadership and demand accountability?
  2. Do you support an independent review of DHCW's governance, spending, and delivery record?
  3. Will you raise this matter in the Senedd or with the relevant Welsh Government minister?

Further documented evidence is available at carenhs.org.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, [Your full name] [Your full address]

Template B: Healthcare Worker / Clinician

Dear [Name of MS],

I am writing to you as a healthcare professional working in NHS Wales and as your constituent in [your area]. I wish to raise urgent concerns about the impact of Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) failures on patient safety and clinical care.

In July 2025, the Royal College of Physicians and RCGP Cymru Wales publicly warned about patient delays linked to failures in NHS Wales digital systems. Clinicians across Wales are dealing daily with the consequences of systems that do not work, do not integrate, and do not meet the needs of patients or staff. The Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Wales has described the NHS Wales App as "mired in delay, non-delivery."

DHCW was escalated to Level 3 intervention — the highest possible level — across all 9 programme areas in March 2025. Despite this, the same leadership team remains in place.

What concerns me further is the treatment of those who have raised the alarm. At least two senior technologists have reportedly been dismissed after raising concerns about failures within DHCW. As far back as 2018, the Public Accounts Committee described DHCW's predecessor organisation as the "antithesis of open." There is a pattern of suppressing dissent rather than addressing the underlying problems.

I would like to know:

  1. What are you doing to ensure that the failures at DHCW are not putting patients at risk?
  2. Will you support independent clinical oversight of NHS Wales digital programmes?
  3. Will you support stronger whistleblower protections for NHS Wales staff who raise concerns about patient safety?

The people who use and rely on these systems every day — clinicians and patients alike — deserve better. Further documented evidence is available at carenhs.org.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, [Your full name] [Your full address]

Template C: Election Period (For Senedd Candidates)

Use this template when writing to candidates standing in the 7 May 2026 Senedd elections, rather than sitting MSs.

Dear [Candidate name],

I am a voter in [constituency name] and I am writing to ask about your position on an issue that matters to me: the governance and accountability of Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).

DHCW is the Welsh Government body responsible for all NHS Wales digital services. In March 2025, the Welsh Government escalated DHCW to Level 3 intervention — the highest possible level — across all 9 programme areas. Its CEO admitted publicly in January 2026 that the organisation cannot demonstrate a return on investment for the hundreds of millions of pounds it has spent. Royal Colleges have warned that digital failures are contributing to patient delays.

Despite this, no member of DHCW's senior leadership has been held accountable. Individuals who raised concerns internally have reportedly been dismissed. The 2018 Public Accounts Committee described the predecessor organisation as the "antithesis of open."

As someone seeking to represent me in the Senedd, I would like to know:

  1. What is your position on the current state of DHCW and its leadership?
  2. If elected, will you support an independent review of DHCW's governance, spending, and delivery?
  3. Will you support stronger legal protections for whistleblowers in NHS Wales?
  4. What will you do to ensure that digital services in NHS Wales are subject to proper scrutiny and accountability?

I believe this is an issue that affects every person in Wales who uses the NHS. I will be taking candidates' responses into account when I vote on 7 May.

Further documented evidence is available at carenhs.org.

Yours sincerely, [Your full name] [Your full address]

Tips for Writing an Effective Letter

Drawing on parliamentary guidance and campaign best practice:

  • Use your own words wherever possible. MSs and their staff can spot form letters immediately. A personal letter — even a short one — carries far more weight than a templated one.
  • Include your full name and postal address. MSs prioritise correspondence from constituents. Without an address, your letter may be deprioritised or not responded to at all.
  • Be respectful but firm. You are writing to an elected representative, not lodging a complaint. State the facts clearly and ask direct questions.
  • Ask a specific question that requires a response. "What are you doing about X?" is harder to ignore than a general expression of concern. Questions create an obligation to reply.
  • Keep it concise. One to two pages is ideal. MSs receive a high volume of correspondence — a focused letter is more likely to be read in full and acted upon.
  • Follow up if you do not receive a response within two weeks. A polite follow-up email referencing your original letter is entirely appropriate. If you still receive no response, you can escalate to the Senedd's Standards Commissioner.
  • Keep a copy of everything. Save your letter and any response you receive. If your MS engages meaningfully, acknowledge it. If they do not, that silence is itself evidence of where their priorities lie.

After You Write

If you receive a response from your MS that contains commitments, assurances, or information about DHCW, consider sharing it with us at carenhs@carenhs.org. Published responses — with your consent — help build a public record of which representatives are engaging with this issue and which are not.

If your MS raises the matter in the Senedd or in committee, we will track and publish that engagement on this site.

The Campaign for Responsible Leadership in NHS Wales is independent and non-partisan. We encourage constituents to write to their representatives regardless of party affiliation. Accountability is not a party-political issue.