The mismanagement and poor performance highlighted by my colleagues in the north of Wales is indeed shocking, but I can't help but feel that this is also something that my own constituents may be facing, so I want to talk about the issues facing people in the Cwm Taf health board, as the range of special measures continues to become the new normal. Whilst waiting times may not be as bad as in the north, the performance remains poor, with a litany of missed targets. 

There has been an acceptance that it's okay for people to wait for a long time for treatment, but it really isn't okay, it isn't acceptable. Debates around waiting times can sometimes be a little dry, but there are people behind the numbers. I have a case example, which, unfortunately, I don't think is unique. This person has been waiting for over 16 months for treatment, and he writes about the wait, I quote, 'This has had a very restricting effect on my quality of life. Up until my diagnosis, I considered myself to be a very active man. I played golf three times a week and also enjoyed gardening on my allotment. I feel that at my age it's vitally important to stay active, and this interminable wait for this operation is making me feel very depressed as I'm conscious of the fact that I'm not getting any younger and would like to be in a position to enjoy the remaining years of my life, instead of waiting in limbo. I was told I would have the operation before Christmas, and then it was sometime in January. These deadlines seem to just come and go, and as they do my depression deepens.'

If we are serious about preventing ill health, managing chronic conditions in the community and supporting people to maintain a healthy lifestyle, then ensuring prompt treatment when it's required just has to be part of that. And, if it is, why are we being told that continuation with our emergency services is not possible?

Well, it is possible to have good services in primary care that prevent ill health and help people stay well—as well as possible—and also have hospital services for when they are needed. There will always be occasions when people need emergency treatment promptly. We may be able to reduce the numbers of people having heart attacks, strokes and so on through better public health, but nobody believes that all of the risks would be eliminated. Hospitals and emergency medicine will always be needed and, as such, services need to be provided within reasonable distances for all people in all parts of Wales. 

And reasonable distance must reflect the reality of travel times in adverse weather, it must reflect the lack of car ownership in deprived communities, and it should be planned in a way that tackles the inverse care law, which means hospitals to serve the local populations throughout the Valleys. But, as we've seen, the current Government has been content to allow the Royal Glamorgan Hospital to decline and deteriorate in what seems to be an ideological obsession with having fewer specialist units for the Valleys. 

The health Minister is responsible for the strategic direction of the health service in Wales. It has been run down since the south Wales programme was agreed back in 2014. Why would anyone want to go and work in a department that is being run down? The ratio of consultants is shocking. While the UK average is 7,000 people to every one consultant, when it should stand closer to 4,000, it is 15,000:1 in our local health board. That is a scandal. 

And it has happened because numerous health Ministers have put their fingers in their ears and refused to be more innovative when it comes to recruitment. It is possible to recruit. I understand that Cardiff are recruiting by offering retention bonuses. A recent conversation with an ex-consultant at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital revealed to me that the Royal Glamorgan is an attractive place for consultants to work. The Minister has the power to intervene here.

Deputy Minister, you have listened to the views of Members representing the surrounding constituencies—this is not just a Rhondda and a Pontypridd issue. It'll have a knock-on effect to people in Cynon, Merthyr, Bridgend, Cardiff and further afield. Will you urge the Minister to intervene? Give us one last chance to save this service that so many people are seriously worried about losing.