Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. A matter that has come to light recently, certainly in my own constituency, is the nature of the questions asked by call handlers when first dialling 999, when somebody is calling an ambulance on behalf of someone not personally known to them. It’s happened to me twice in recent weeks where I haven’t known the person, but they’ve fallen outside my office. The series of questions leading to some serious delays have been found problematic, simply because you cannot, often, answer the type of questions that you’re asked if you don’t know the person. Only recently, a local shopkeeper has been left in shock after being unable to answer such questions, and the individual concerned was actually rapidly deteriorating before his very eyes. He felt quite helpless and worried by the delay, and sadly the individual has since passed away.

A recent Wales Audit Office report highlighted concerns about call handling and classifications, and a recent freedom of information request submitted by us showed communication and attitude as an issue for many making complaints to the ambulance trust. I’m really quite unsure as to how the emergency call handling system works on behalf of each different emergency service. Cabinet Secretary, having raised my really serious concerns on this here with you today, will you assure me that you will work with the trust to ensure that call handlers are more sensitively taking into account an individual calling an ambulance in the first instance? This should be considered as an urgent priority.