Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Miles warned the financial situation at the Aneurin Bevan health board, covering the Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, and Torfaen council areas, had “deteriorated rapidly” this year.
“It is forecasting an £18.3m deficit by the end of March – this is not acceptable,” he said.
“I am placing the Aneurin Bevan university health board in level four escalation for finance, strategy and planning and I am revoking the approval of its three-year plan.”
On urgent and emergency care at the Grange hospital, opened five years ago, Miles said: “Despite considerable investment and staffing in the emergency department, the health board has failed to deliver the required improvements.
“I am also raising the escalation level to level four for urgent and emergency care at the health board, this will result in direct intervention by the Welsh government and NHS Performance and Improvement to improve the timeliness and quality of urgent and emergency care for people living in the Gwent region.”
Miles confirmed that Wales’ largest health board, Betsi Cadwaladr, would remain at the highest level of government intervention at level five.
The north Wales board returned to this status, commonly referred to as special measures, in February 2023 after a two-year break from the most intensive degree of oversight.
Plaid Cymru pledged to review the special measures framework and strengthen the NHS executive role if the party wins power at next May’s Senedd election.
Plaid Senedd member Mabon ap Gwynfor said there appeared to be “no ceiling to Labour’s mismanagement of our precious health system and Betsi’s situation shows that the special measures process is simply not fit for purpose”.
“Failing standards in our health system have been normalised under Labour,” he said.