THE First Minister has been challenged after the fourteenth report into preventable patient deaths.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has challenged Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford to undertake an urgent investigation after it has come to light that there have been fourteen reports since 2014 into serious failings in North Wales’s health services resulting in preventable patient deaths.

Speaking in the chamber during FMQs, Adam Price highlighted the case of Peter Connelly who died nearly two years ago in what the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust described as “difficult and unacceptable circumstances”.

There had been an eight hour delay in admitting Mr Connelly to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Following his death, the senior coroner for North Wales issued a regulation 28 report which highlighted long waits outside hospitals in North Wales concluding that unless working practices altered within the NHS in North Wales it was inevitable that future deaths would occur which might otherwise have been preventable.

This year, a further report has been issued into the case of Samantha Brousas identified failings in the transfer of care at Wrexham Maelor – making it the fourteenth such report in six years.

Despite suspected sepsis and being critically ill – she was held outside the hospital in an ambulance for over two hours.

Mr Price challenged the First Minister to undertake an “urgent investigation” to ensure lives are “not put at risk any further”.

He added that such a situation was a result of a lack of capacity in hospitals, the closure of community hospitals and the loss of hospitals beds - with many beds being filled by people who are ready to be discharged and moved into social care were it to be available.

Mr Price said: ““As a consequence of the concerns raised by the coroner about Betsi Cadwaladr and the Wales Ambulance Trust will the First Minister undertake an urgent investigation to ensure that lives are not put at risk?

“Of course, what all of these cases have in common is that they are a direct result of a lack of capacity in our hospitals, the closure of community hospitals and the loss of hospital beds, with many beds being filled by people who should be in social care – all happening under Labour’s watch.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Every year thousands of patients receive high-quality, safe and effective treatment but in a modern health system – where increasingly complicated procedures are being undertaken – unfortunately incidents can still happen.

"When this happens the NHS must investigate openly and learn and provide assurance and feed back to patients and their families. We expect every NHS organisation to report every incident, whether small or serious on a regular basis to the National Reporting and Learning System.

"High levels and regular reporting provides organisations with more opportunities to learn and improve patient safety.”