I would like to thank the Welsh Conservatives for tabling this important debate, and of course we support the motion. Death is one of the only inevitabilities of life. Enabling each of us to die well is a hallmark of a compassionate society. Unfortunately, we haven't always provided the best end-of-life care, and this has been exacerbated by the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Last year, we saw that the number of Welsh citizens who lost their lives increase by over 10 per cent to over 37,000. Over 6,000 of those were because of this dreadful disease, which has cut short the lives of loved ones across the nation. Pre-pandemic, one in four of those in need of palliative care were denied the right level of care.

Multiple studies have also highlighted the fact that adequate and timely palliative care is less accessible for older people and those from the black, Asian, minority ethnic community. These inequalities will have increased as a result of COVID-19, which has disproportionately impacted the elderly and other members of our community.

Far too many people have been forced to face the end of their lives unable to be surrounded by family and friends. Far too many have died alone, and even more would have if not for our amazing nursing staff and general NHS staff. But, this has taken its toll. As the motion before us today notes, the RCN have raised concerns regarding nurses being exhausted, stressed, and near burn-out point, due to the pandemic and the additional pressure of providing end-of-life care. This is unsustainable. We have to ensure that we have properly-resourced palliative care and bereavement services, which have been sorely taxed as a result of this pandemic. And it's unfortunate that there has been no additional funding in the forthcoming budget for hospices, for bereavement services nor for mental health support for nurses impacted by this pandemic. And there are many nurses and NHS staff suffering from stress due to this pandemic.

Just before Christmas, my husband was taken into hospital with COVID-19, and he spent five weeks in there. He saw many people not coming out. He saw families in distress. He heard nurses really being stressed due to this. So, we must do better for our NHS staff, we must do better so our citizens can die well, and so that those that help ease the burden are not left traumatised by the experience. Please support this motion. Diolch yn fawr iawn.