Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Just in starting this debate, I'd like to put on record again, myself, and on behalf of us as Welsh Conservatives, the immense thanks to all staff in the healthcare sector for the hard work, dedication and commitment that they continue to show to Welsh patients. Now, let's be honest, the health service here in Wales under this Welsh Labour Government did not enter the pandemic on its best footing. The 95 per cent target for patients spending less than four hours in A&E had never been met. Cancer waiting times had not been met for 10 years. Forty-two per cent of people in Wales had an unmet need for physiotherapy compared to 30 per cent in England, and Betsi Cadwaladr, my own health board, had some horrendous waiting times in February: 508 patient pathways waiting over 36 weeks to start ENT treatment, 903 for urology, and 3,192 for trauma and orthopaedic treatment. As Andrew R.T. Davies has quite correctly said, these are individuals. Their lives are being impacted daily. Sadly, despite these tireless efforts of our front-line workers, the impact of the pandemic on these individuals is devastating. Waiting times for those waiting more than 36 weeks have increased by eight times; 168,944 people have been waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment. In fact, the overall number of patient pathways waiting to start treatment by the end of September 2020 had topped 0.5 million people.

Now, as the Minister knows, I have written to him on several occasions with constituents who are now on record as having waited years for some orthopaedic surgery, and we must note the BBC Wales report, which shows a tenfold increase in patients waiting for all treatments in the Welsh NHS compared to September 2019. Now, these are not new findings, and we're not dismissing the impact of COVID-19, but in fact, warnings of backlogs were made during the first lockdown. The Royal College of General Practitioners commented that in 2009, during the flu epidemic in the UK, there was a significant increase in deaths from strokes. So, there is a risk that the obvious emphasis on COVID patients will result in treatment for other health conditions being delayed if patients are not allowed to present in primary care. Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation highlighted severe concerns about people with chronic lung disease being at greater risk of preventable exacerbation and worsening of health.

The British Heart Foundation indicated that the drop of 20 per cent in the number of people seen in hospitals across Wales with a suspected heart attack since lockdown may partly explain the increase in deaths that are not currently attributable to COVID-19. Now, while I agree that many treatments were closed at the start of lockdown, obviously, to ensure the safety of patients, urgent action is needed now to resume some of these services. Unlike the Minister, I think it would be sensible to put a plan in place to tackle the waiting list backlog. You should immediately boost the use of COVID-free hospitals. As recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, across the UK, setting up COVID-19-free hospital areas could prevent 6,000 unnecessary COVID-19-related deaths—this is after cancer surgery—over the next year.

On 31 July, NHS England published the third phase of its COVID-19 response, which had a particular focus on the capacity available to ensure the return of near normal levels of non-COVID health services. But in comparison here, we've seen the Welsh Government struggle to act quickly. So, by 28 August, no general and acute beds were available in field hospitals. This was the case for nearly two months until 15 October, when 115 beds had been made available. That's less than half of the capacity seen at the peak of the pandemic. That failure to not use the independent and field hospital capacity consistently, before the second wave, has driven pressure on to our existing hospitals during the second wave. The seriousness of this situation is clear, when considering that 2,000 people could die because of COVID-related delays in the Welsh NHS. Scotland and England have had cancer recovery plans in place for several months, yet not here. So, I wholeheartedly support the calls for a plan and a nationwide campaign to ensure that people who suspect that they have cancer and need to go to hospital do so. Even Macmillan Cancer Support recommended last month that you must commit a clear plan and resources to support the delivery of surge capacity.

I will close by noting that the urgent action that we are requesting is feasible. This is constructive opposition. Not only is it supported by health organisations, but we can feasibly boost the use of COVID-free hospitals across Wales by ensuring that health boards have clear policies on addressing testing requirements and frequency for staff and patients; adequate PPE and surgical supplies and clear policies on when and how to use them; local co-ordination to ensure that patients' care pathways are appropriately managed; the use of hospitals from the independent sector to boost capacity; and Nightingale hospitals to remain in operation. Please, Minister, let us all work together now across the board and deal with the situation that faces us now with COVID, but let normal hospital treatments that are required by the Welsh public continue and let them have their much-needed treatment. Thank you. Diolch.