4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit, up by 1.2 million since 2019, many because of a mental health condition

A CLINICAL review into how mental health conditions are diagnosed across the UK is expected to begin this week, following concerns within government over rapidly rising sickness-benefit claims linked to conditions such as autism, ADHD and anxiety.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has commissioned leading clinical experts to examine whether ordinary emotional distress is being “over-pathologised” and to assess why the number of people receiving sickness and incapacity benefits has grown to 4.4 million – an increase of 1.2 million since 2019.

According to reports in The Times, ministers are particularly alarmed by the surge in the number of 16- to 34-year-olds now out of work because of long-term mental health conditions.

Streeting said he recognised “from personal experience how devastating it can be for people who face poor mental health, have ADHD or autism and can’t get a diagnosis or the right support,” but added that he had also heard from clinicians who say diagnoses are “sharply rising”.

“We must look at this through a strictly clinical lens to get an evidence-based understanding of what we know, what we don’t know, and what these patterns tell us about our mental health system, autism and ADHD services,” he told the newspaper. “That’s the only way we can ensure everyone gets timely access to accurate diagnosis and effective support.”

The review is expected to be chaired by Prof Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist at University College London specialising in child mental health, with Sir Simon Wessely, former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, acting as vice-chair.

Prof Fonagy said the panel would “examine the evidence with care – from research, from people with lived experience and from clinicians working at the frontline of mental health, autism and ADHD services – to understand, in a grounded way, what is driving rising demand.”

The move comes as the UK Government faces mounting pressure over the rising welfare bill. Ministers earlier this year pulled back from proposed changes to disability benefits, including those affecting people with mental health conditions, after opposition from Labour backbenchers.

Speaking on Monday, the Prime Minister said a fresh round of welfare reform was needed.

Keir Starmer said: “We’ve got to transform it; we also have to confront the reality that our welfare state is trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work.”

A CONSERVATIVE MS has pressed the Welsh Government for answers after the sudden departure of the Velindre University NHS Trust’s chief executive, amid media reports that he raised concerns about alleged governance failures within NHS Wales Shared Services.

During Health Questions in the Senedd today, James Evans MS asked Health Secretary Jeremy Miles to explain why former CEO David Donegan left his post after just a year. Reports circulating in recent weeks suggest Mr Donegan had raised issues relating to governance, and in some accounts, possible criminality. These claims have not been substantiated publicly.

Velindre’s own 2024/25 annual report notes that the Trust “escalated concerns to Audit Wales and Welsh Government about the current governance of Shared Services, which hadn’t been reviewed since 2012.” No details of the concerns have been published.

Welsh Government response

Jeremy Miles MS confirmed in the chamber that correspondence relating to the issues does exist, but said it would not be appropriate to release sensitive material while internal processes are ongoing. He did not comment on the circumstances of Mr Donegan’s departure, citing employment confidentiality rules which are standard across the NHS and public sector.

A Welsh Government spokesperson has previously said that they expect all NHS bodies to follow “proper governance and HR procedures,” and that they “do not comment on individual employment matters.”

Velindre NHS Trust position

Velindre has not publicly stated that Mr Donegan was removed because of whistleblowing activity. The Trust has described his departure simply as a “change in leadership” and says it continues to engage with Audit Wales and the Welsh Government on governance matters.

Opposition criticism

After the exchange, James Evans MS — the Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health — criticised the Health Secretary’s “lack of transparency”.

He said:

“I am extremely disappointed with the Health Secretary’s refusal to provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding Mr Donegan’s departure, or to release the correspondence relating to governance concerns within Shared Services. The public must be able to trust that millions of pounds of NHS funds are being managed properly.”

Mr Evans said he will write to the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary formally requesting the publication of correspondence “in the interests of full accountability.”

Context: What is NHS Shared Services?

The NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) manages national procurement, payroll, recruitment, estates services and other core functions for health boards and trusts. It sits within Velindre University NHS Trust but operates independently of its operational healthcare work. Governance arrangements for NWSSP were originally set a decade ago and are subject to periodic review by Audit Wales.

There is no evidence at present of wrongdoing by the Welsh Government or NWSSP, beyond the concerns referenced in Velindre’s annual report.

Patients wheeled through tunnels “carpeted in bird faeces” as ministers accused of abandoning the NHS

CARDIFF’S University Hospital of Wales – the largest hospital serving South and West Wales – has been branded a national disgrace after whistle-blowers revealed a chronic pigeon infestation, including birds nesting inside areas used to prepare sterile operating theatres.

Tunnels ‘carpeted in droppings’

Patients, including those critically ill, are being pushed along underground corridors described as “ankle-deep in water and carpeted with bird faeces”, with buckets placed along walkways to catch rain leaking through failing roofs. Staff say the stench is overwhelming and that vulnerable patients are being traumatised by the conditions.

One frontline worker, speaking anonymously to The Pembrokeshire Herald, said the situation had become intolerable: “The place is full of pigeons. You see them flapping around in trauma theatres while surgeons are trying to save lives. The smell is vile.”

Photographs passed to this newspaper show floor surfaces coated in pigeon droppings and staff weaving around flocks of birds to reach wards.

Consultants warn hospital is now a risk

The revelations come just weeks after nearly three hundred senior consultants at the Heath signed an unprecedented letter warning morale was “at an all-time low” and stating the physical condition of the hospital now poses a serious infection risk. Pigeon droppings can carry cryptococcus, a fungus potentially fatal to those with weakened immune systems.

Despite this, ministers in Cardiff Bay have pressed ahead with hundreds of millions of pounds for expanding the Senedd by thirty-six new politicians and for major expenditure on the Welsh Government’s “Nation of Sanctuary” asylum policies.

Political row deepens

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies said the state of the Heath symbolised years of neglect.

“Senedd ministers must take responsibility for the appalling condition of our hospitals. While Labour and Plaid spent money on vanity projects, they ignored the NHS. Patients in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Swansea are paying the price.”

Built in the early 1970s, the Heath now requires more than £100 million in urgent repairs. Last winter entire wards were left freezing when heating systems failed, while engineers are said to be so overstretched that routine maintenance can take weeks.

In one instance, a seventy-seven-year-old emphysema patient from West Wales spent four days under blankets because radiators in his bay would not work. Another elderly man spent his final hours being wheeled through pigeon-infested tunnels because the lifts had broken again.

Health board ‘accepts’ poor conditions

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board acknowledged the conditions were “unacceptable” and said additional pest-control measures would be introduced, insisting patient safety had not been compromised. However, the hospital was placed at the highest level of Welsh Government intervention last month, and staff say the situation on the ground has barely changed.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said it was providing “targeted support” to address long-standing problems with the estate.

‘Ashamed to bring patients through’

For families in Pembrokeshire who rely on the Heath for major trauma, neurosurgery and cancer services, confidence in the system continues to erode.

A nurse from Tenby who trained at the hospital told The Herald: “We used to be proud to work there. Now we’re ashamed to bring patients through corridors that look like something from a horror film.”

The pigeons may be the most visible sign of decline – but staff say the deeper crisis begins in Cardiff Bay, where the decisions that shape Wales’s health service are made.

The people of Wales, they insist, deserve far better.