A report alleging financial mismanagement at the NHS board for north Wales has been requested by the UK government from Wales' health minister.
In a letter to Eluned Morgan, Welsh Secretary David TC Davies "expressed serious concern" regarding a report by the accounting firm EY.
According to it, the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board misaccounted for millions.
According to the report, the finance team and leadership had "systematic cultural failings.".
The document has not yet been published by the Welsh government, who has stated that the "Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is awaiting legal advice on whether or not they can release the report.".
According to the investigation, which the BBC obtained, board members' financial representatives purposefully made inaccurate account entries.
According to forensic accountants, the health board entered transactions into its 2021–22 accounts that were related to work that contractors had not yet completed or medical equipment that had not yet arrived by the time the transactions were entered.
Although an internal review of what happened is still ongoing, the criminal fraud investigation into the incident was dropped earlier this year.
After the report revealed "widespread mismanagement of public money within the board," the Welsh secretary wrote that there was "considerable anxiety within communities in north Wales.".
"Given the report's drip-feeding to the media and the growing level of public concern, I think it's in everyone's best interests for the public to have access to the entire document.
"Therefore, I would like you to release the report in its entirety today. " .
Welsh Conservatives will also advocate for the report's release during a Senedd debate on Wednesday.
The public is "significantly interested in its contents and has a right to know what has been happening," according to Darren Millar, the shadow minister for north Wales for the Conservative party.
The health minister has the authority to order the health board to publish the report; she ought to do so right away given that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been placed back under special measures. ".
According to him, withholding the report's publication "only serves to give the impression of a cover-up.". ".
Welsh Conservatives will also demand a more comprehensive investigation to confirm that the reported practices "are not occurring in other NHS organizations in Wales" and that "similar practices" have not occurred in prior fiscal years.
A spokesperson for the Welsh government stated that the Betsi Cadwaladr health board was "advancing issues raised in the Ernst and Young report in accordance with its procedures and policies.".
"This comes in response to the findings of the NHS Counter Fraud Wales investigation into the Auditor General's qualified opinion of the health board's 2021–22 financial accounts.
"We refrain from commenting on leaked documents, particularly when internal procedures are still in progress, as they are in this instance. ".
The board's chairman, Dyfed Edwards, stated: "We are requesting legal advice regarding our capacity to share this report and wish to do everything within our power to cooperate with interested parties in a spirit of openness.
"In handling such delicate matters, it is crucial that we strike a suitable balance between openness and the responsibility we have to our staff.
. "
