‘Operational and corporate risks’ must still be managed by the health board during the current pandemic but changes are to be made to monitoring.

A report to Thursday’s Hywel Dda Health Board meeting outlined a plan to review the risks on the corporate register and the management of operation risks until June 30, when a further review will be carried out.

It is proposed that executive directors and general managers be told the monitoring and scrutiny of the management of operational risks will be suspended but “there is still the expectation that management will ensure their service is safe and the risk of harm to patients and staff is managed appropriately.”

The report adds that there are currently 492 live risks, 432 above the health board’s agreed tolerance level with the majority relating to “fragile services, poor patient flows, poor environments and ageing equipment mainly as a result of staffing and funding (capital and revenue) challenges.

“These risks, which relate to potential events or impacts, will continue to remain whilst the Health Board prepares and deals with the emerging Covid-19 pandemic.”

Work will be done to review and update corporate risks to reflect the impact of coronavirus on them, with some being “de-escalated” due to changing proprieties while some will be increased and others will emerge.

“Whilst there is recognition of the significant pressure on services, there needs to be a proportionate response to risk balanced with the current capacity pressures and challenges presented by the COVID pandemic and managing the ‘business as usual’ issues and risks,” sates the report.

Potential impacts of suspending management of all risks could include the delivery of safe and effective care and workforce capacity.