Swansea Nhs Trust has been urged to come clean over the real danger to patients in the row over hospital electrics. A risk assessment report backing the trust’s urgent call for £9 million warned of the likelihood of death and toxic releases in the event of expected power failures at Singleton and Morriston.

But the report turned out to be copied from a textbook and not specific to the bid.

Red-faced chiefs at the trust have now backpedalled on the claims, and admitted the report did not really represent what would happen in an emergency.

It was included in the bid to put pressure on the Assembly to speed things up.

But chief executive of Swansea Health Board, Jack Straw, who was sent a copy of the risk assessment and was asked to back the trust’s bid, today called for greater clarity.

He said: “We are entirely dependent on the trust’s expert advisers for the risk assessment.

“We will now be asking the trust for an urgent reassessment of the critical risk - clarification of what the real risk is,” he said.

The trust’s request for backing will be put before Swansea Health Board at its next meeting in April, he added.

Carmarthenshire Health Board also had a copy of the risk assessment and was asked to back the trust.

The matter was discussed at its meeting three weeks ago. Members agreed in principle to support the bid but made no promises over helping out with cash.

Today the board was not commenting on the merits of the risk assessment.

A spokeswoman said: “Our main concern was that services would continue for our patients, regardless of the bigger issues like the warnings about deaths.”

Neath Port Talbot Health Board, which also had a copy of the risk assessment, will be discussing it next month.

It is understood the director of the NHS in Wales, Ann Lloyd, was meeting Swansea’s chief executive, Jane Perrin, to discuss the issue this week.

An Assembly spokesman said: “The Assembly is aware of the concerns raised and is actively evaluating the trust’s outline case to respond to the problem.”

Swansea NHS Trust has claimed the electrical systems at the two hospitals are so poor that it was almost certain power would fail, leading to “catastrophic” consequences.

These were likely to be death, the release of toxic substances, hospital evacuation and disruption of routine services, according to the risk assessment.

But trust estate director Nigel Schofield admitted yesterday that they had used a sample risk assessment, and not one tailor- made for the bid.

He said that while the maximum urgency score was accurate, the threat of fatalities was theoretical and very slim because of back-up plans.

There would be no release of toxic substances.

“Capital bids take a long time. We need this investment in the next six to 12 months,” he said.

“We have had to put a very strong case to the Assembly.”

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