Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to once again take the opportunity to raise the issue of protecting services at Withybush hospital in this Chamber, and I'm happy to give Helen Mary Jones a minute of my time.

I'm sure the topic of my short debate will come as no great shock to the Welsh Government, as I have raised this particular issue on many occasions, not just in this Assembly, but in previous Assemblies too. However, I refuse to apologise for raising this vital issue once again, as it remains to be the single biggest priority of my constituents, who are continually facing a threat to their vital health services. 

Now, to bring Members up to speed, in recent years Hywel Dda University Health Board has embarked on a ruthless centralisation agenda in relation to delivering health services in west Wales, and as a result of that agenda, services have continued to slip away from Withybush hospital in my constituency and move eastwards to Glangwili hospital. As we all know, the health board did launch a consultation on the future of services and decided on a way forward that would effectively see Withybush hospital lose round-the-clock general hospital status and be repurposed, and a new general hospital would be built somewhere between Narberth and St Clears to provide accident and emergency, specialist, urgent and planned care. At the time, Steve Moore, the health board's chief executive, said that it, and I quote,

'offers us the best chance to deal with the fragility our NHS faces and to provide the population with safe, effective care that meets their needs.'