Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. I’m pleased to introduce this debate on a petition that seeks to protect the provision of accident and emergency services at Withybush District General Hospital in Pembrokeshire.

This is a major petition, both in terms of its importance to people in the local community and the number of signatures gathered. In total, the petition received 40,045 signatures. I understand that this is the largest single petition the Assembly has received since the formal petitioning process was introduced in 2007. The level of support for the petition was borne out when it was delivered to the Assembly in July, accompanied by a significant number of supporters who had travelled from Pembrokeshire. I want to acknowledge the support enjoyed by the petition and the commitment of those who have campaigned to gather the signatures.

I will now turn briefly to some background before addressing the matters raised within the petition. On 19 April this year, Hywel Dda health board launched a formal public consultation on proposals to change the way health services are provided across the area. This followed an internal exercise that sought to identify the challenges being faced by the health board and the options for change. It is fair to point out that Hywel Dda health board has emphasised that this process was led by clinical staff from the outset.

The public consultation contained three proposals for changes to hospital services. It expressed its overall aim as being to move more services out of hospitals into communities and, where possible, to provide services in patients’ own homes. Under each of the proposals, Withybush hospital in Haverfordwest would be downgraded from a district general hospital to become one of a network of community hospitals. The consultation closed on 12 July. As Members will be aware, the results of the consultation and recommendations were considered at an extraordinary board meeting of Hywel Dda health board earlier today. It has been reported in the media that the health board was asked to approve several clinical recommendations. These include the development of a new model at pace and a revised version of option B from the consultation.

Option B will mean, amongst other things, the closure of A&E departments at both Withybush and Glangwili hospitals and the construction of a new hospital between Narberth and St Clears. It is intended that both Withybush and Glangwili will be repurposed as community hospitals. These proposals were approved by the health board with the next step being a draft health strategy to be considered in November.

The Petitions Committee acknowledged the level of support for the petition when we discussed it for the first time just prior to the summer recess. The committee was also conscious of the time-sensitive nature of the issue. In light of this, we agreed that it would be appropriate to immediately refer the petition for a debate in Plenary. The committee is grateful to the Business Committee for agreeing to schedule this debate at the earliest possible opportunity. It is obviously of considerable regret that, despite those efforts, this debate is nevertheless taking place after the health board’s meeting this morning.

I am also disappointed that information the committee received from Hywel Dda was incorrect. It indicated that a consultation closing report and proposals would be presented to a public board meeting tomorrow, on 27 September, rather than today. Nevertheless, I am sure that the health board will wish to pay close attention to the matters raised during the debate this afternoon and to the views expressed by Members.

I will move on now to the concerns expressed within the petition. These focus on the effect that removing A&E from Withybush hospital will have on the distance that many people would need to travel to reach their closest A&E department.

Under the plans, Withybush will host a minor injuries unit.  However, the petitioners believe that the change will result in travel times of an hour or more to A&E for people living on the western side of Pembrokeshire. They also express a concern that this time could be much longer in reality for patients who require an ambulance to take them to hospital. We all know the value that local communities place upon their health services, and how emotive proposals to change them can be. That is, of course, not an argument for never making changes. However, it should be an argument for ensuring that as many voices as possible can be heard and for taking concerns extremely seriously.

In this vein, I also wish to note for the record that the Petitions Committee has recently received a petition in relation to proposals contained with the same consultation for changes to be made to the services delivered at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. The committee will be considering this in the near future.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I am sure that the points raised here today will be of great interest to the petitioners. It is also clear that the decisions taken by the health board earlier today will be a major disappointment to those who signed this petition and to a number of people in Pembrokeshire and west Wales more widely. I am also sure that a great number of Members here today wish to speak on this subject, and I will leave it to others to expand upon the principles and arguments that lie at the centre of this issue. It only remains for me to say that the Petitions Committee will return to consider the petition further in the future in light of the discussion here today, and that the various contributions we hear will greatly support those considerations. Diolch yn fawr.