Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this very important debate? I think most of the points that I wanted to cover have now been dealt with. So, I’m going to confine my contribution to this particular debate to the part of the motion that deals specifically with community hospitals and, in particular, the importance of developing the integration agenda.

I guess, like me, everybody places great value on our local community hospitals, but unfortunately, I think the wording of the motion implies that keeping every existing community hospital open is the answer to delivering community-based health services and social care. It’s quite possible that some existing community hospitals could provide the base for some community-based schemes, not just providing a range of healthcare services, such as GP practices, dental services, opticians and pharmacies, but being the base for social care provision. But, a blanket policy of keeping open every community hospital could, in some instances, actually be a barrier to initiatives for the better integration of health and care services.

There are great examples already out there, and Sian Gwenllian mentioned some in her constituency, of one-stop centres for health and social care provision. In my constituency I have two great examples, one of which is the Keir Hardie Health Park in Merthyr, and the other is the integrated health and social care centre in Rhymney. I believe that that should be the general direction of travel, in terms of community provision.

From the contributions we’ve heard from Mark Isherwood and from Hannah Blythyn, I know how emotive proposals to close community hospitals can be, but that shouldn’t deflect us from the need to take forward the process of social care and health integration, and it shouldn’t deflect us in the short term, just for political expediency, to unjustifiably keep open unsustainable community hospitals, if doing so prevents the development of local, sustainable integrated health and care services.