Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. This, basically, is a call for GPs to undertake routine screening for type 1 diabetes in children and young people. Lynne Neagle AM has kindly offered to give a minute, and my colleague, Mark Reckless.

I would like to speak today on the importance of screening particularly in children and young people, especially when they do present with the very four telling signs of severe illness. The potentially devastating effects of type 1 diabetes have been highlighted to me through evidence given to me, as a member of the Petitions Committee, by the family of the late 13-year-old Peter Baldwin, who tragically lost his life in early 2015 as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis—DKA. Peter's family may be with us this evening and were certainly doing their best to be here. I know that his mother and father, along with Diabetes UK, have worked very hard to try and ensure that no other family have to go through what they've had to endure.

In her words—this is the mother's words:

'Peter loved life at school and his friends. He was a fit and healthy teenager who had the world at his feet. He'd just been to Germany with the school and had come back with a winter cold. On New Year's Eve, he was very unwell, so we visited our GP. He diagnosed a chest infection, giving us antibiotics. No type 1 test was offered or considered. I explained that Peter was sleeping lots and drinking lots, which we now know are two of the major signs of the four Ts.

'Twenty four hours later, at 4.30 p.m. on New Year's Day, we called the out-of-hours service and explained that we were very concerned about Peter, who was fast deteriorating, with laboured breathing and delirium. Insisting that this was very urgent, we were transferred to 999, which was engaged for quite a short time. I asked for an ambulance, which I had to be very direct about; the operator kept asking if this was deemed necessary. Thank goodness I insisted and I stuck to my guns—many at this point would've given up. The rapid response paramedic arrived shortly and the first thing he did after giving Peter oxygen was to prick his finger. He diagnosed Peter on the spot with type 1 diabetes and it took less than 30 seconds. The paramedic called an ambulance and within 15 minutes, we were in the resus department at the Heath hospital. Peter was given the right care. He fought for six days, but his poor little body couldn't cope and he never recovered.'

Diabetic ketoacidosis can be fatal. Peter had presented at his GP surgery days before. A two-second finger-prick test by his GP at that time could and would have diagnosed type 1 diabetes and given Peter and his family a vital 24-hour head start to fight the DKA. It is a testament to the dedication and commitment of Peter's family to campaigning in his memory that I'm stood here tonight raising this. They want—and I want—to make sure that no-one else ever has to go through the same horrific experience that they have and that nobody loses their child unnecessarily.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, where the body is attacked and destroys insulin-producing cells, meaning that no insulin is produced. This causes glucose to quickly rise in the blood and everyone with type 1 diabetes must therefore take insulin to control their blood sugar or blood glucose levels. The condition is not preventable and there is no known cure. We do know that around 1,500 children and young people have type 1 diabetes in Wales. The peak age for diagnosis is around nine to 14 years of age, and Diabetes UK tell us that, of these, 24 per cent—that's around 360—will have been diagnosed very late in the life-threatening stage of DKA or diabetic ketoacidosis. In the under-five age group, this number increases to 29 per cent. At this stage of late diagnosis, type 1 diabetes is a rapid onset condition, resulting in a child becoming critically ill and very fast. If left without immediate testing, referral and treatment, this can be fatal. 

We also know that type 1 diabetes in children is relatively rare. The Royal College of General Practitioners estimates the rate amongst children under 15 to be 187 in every 100,000 children, meaning that a GP might go their entire career without experiencing such a case.