I'll try and keep my contribution short, but I have to express my huge disappointment at Mark Reckless's contribution, once again trying to put the NHS back in the hands of Westminster and towards a Government that wants to privatise rather than serve the people of Wales. I'm also very disappointed in how Caroline Jones's efforts to comment upon these contributions from overseas workers and overseas health professionals seems to be more focused on sending them back home than actually helping them to help our people, and I think that's very critical. I want to also put on record my great thanks to the staff of the NHS who have been tireless in their commitment and dedication and compassion to our people who have been needing that service, particularly those who have been in hospital with severe conditions through COVID. We can never give enough thanks to them. I won't talk about the pay rise at this stage, but they deserve far more than actually they have been recognised for at this moment in time.

Llywydd, I have spoken many times on the topic, and I recognise that there is deep concern about these statistics that we are seeing and that we need to take action to support our health service increase services to both reduce the waiting lists but at the same time address the immediate needs of patients who present themselves in the future, because we are moving out of the pandemic and into a period where we have to catch up, but we also have to continue delivering to those who present themselves there and then. There is no doubt that in addition to the waiting lists that we are aware of—and that's the people who have already been placed on waiting lists—there are going to be many more who have failed to present themselves, whether that's because the pandemic has worried them about attending their GP or whether symptoms have been confused with the coronavirus. I, myself, before Christmas, presented myself with shortness of breath, was told to go and get a coronavirus test—negative—and I ended up actually having to go into hospital with blood clots on the lungs: a condition that needed to be addressed. There are many people out there who are perhaps more hesitant to present themselves, and they will come forward, and therefore our waiting lists are going to increase. That wave of people, I think, and the large number—I think it's a tsunami—of waiting list people has to be addressed.

Pre pandemic, we were making positive progress towards reducing waiting times in most areas. In 2019, we saw less than 1,000 people waiting over 24 weeks for nine out of 12 months in all diagnostic services. Now, the majority are waiting under eight weeks. The total figure in 2020, in December, had only increased by 14.5 per cent on the previous December, but what we saw was a greater shift from those who were waiting under 26 weeks to those who are now waiting over 36 weeks. So, a large shift and a change in the length of time that people are waiting. In fact, we saw a 748 per cent increase in that change. So, there's definitely a move from shorter waiting lists to longer waiting lists. Everyone on these waiting lists needs that treatment and our goal must be to challenge the Government to set out its plan to address these figures. COVID-19 unfortunately has made that even more difficult in how we manage those patients on the lists as required, because this is across the UK, and therefore some of the options and alternative available waiting list initiatives are taken away from us because hospitals in England, services across the UK, are going to be facing exactly the same challenges we are facing, and therefore the modelling of approaching the waiting lists has to be changed. We have to look at new models. Now, let's remember as well, please, our NHS staff are exhausted, and we must ensure they recover too, alongside the waiting times, so that we will be in a position to deliver a resumption to the full provision of health services, along with the preparations for additional waves that the viruses and—[Inaudible.]—will bring upon us in the years ahead.

Now, there is positive news. We have seen an increase in training places over recent years, and the take-up has been good, and we need HEIW to reflect the workforce needs to establish additional training places and work with health boards and GPs so that we get the places they can go into get their experiences. That's very important, because very often we talk about large numbers, but we forget: how can they be managed when they go into those work placements? Especially for nurses, we must make sure there is sufficient support there as well, and the staff have sufficient time to give that support. There's a lot of consideration to be given, and I welcome today's announcement from the Welsh Government that they are looking to add additional funding to the north Wales medical training aspect. So, there's a process, but there is still far more to be done on that. I ask the Welsh Government: please ensure that you increase the GP training places, you increase the doctor training places, you increase the nurse training places, and all the allied professions. I know it's difficult. I know there's an issue on funding. But we have to get these people in place. We—