1. Will the Minister make a statement on the delivery of health services in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area? OQ56904

Thank you very much, Paul. Health services, like every health board in the health service at the moment, are under great pressure dealing with record numbers of COVID cases in the community, seeing an ageing population, a fragile care sector, the threat of winter flu and the need to deliver the booster vaccine and vaccines to 12 to 15-year-olds. On top of this, they are continuing to provide essential and key services, and, where possible, they are addressing the backlog that has built up over the course of the pandemic.

Minister, last week I challenged the First Minister on ambulance services in Pembrokeshire, and he accused me of peddling unsubstantiated rumours, which is simply not true. Because the representations that I've received on this matter are from front-line emergency service workers in Pembrokeshire who are very concerned at proposals to reduce local ambulance cover and the impact that the proposals would have on the local population and on the workforce. The proposals to reduce ambulance cover come following the fact that paediatric emergency assessments will not be available at Withybush hospital and will continue to be transferred to Glangwili hospital until at least next year. And, of course, the military is now being asked to support the ambulance service, and so reducing emergency cover in Pembrokeshire simply does not make any sense. So, Minister, will you now intervene to ensure that Pembrokeshire's emergency ambulance cover is not reduced?

Diolch yn fawr, Paul. I'm sure you'll be interested to hear that I'm very aware of your concerns, and therefore I have organised for the representative from the Welsh ambulance service to give a briefing to Members from Mid and West Wales on Friday this week. So, I do hope you'll be present and available to be able to hear directly about the plans in relation to ambulance services in the Hywel Dda area.

Of course, you will be aware that, already, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services provide some service; specially trained crew from Crymych, Narberth and St Davids are doing an incredible job, and so we're very pleased to see that. But also, as you've heard, we are reaching out now to the military to give some support, and that is because we are seeing an increased demand during this very exceptional period.

You talk about taking services away from Withybush, and let me be absolutely clear: what's happening is that there was a concern about a surge in respiratory syncytial virus, and we've decided to continue, and Hywel Dda have decided to continue, with the temporary removal of paediatric ambulance care from March last year, so that those children can be monitored by experienced staff. And the fact is that any decisions like this always follow the advice of clinicians.

And, do you know what, it really upsets me the way that the Tories keep on stirring in relation to Withybush in Pembrokeshire? In 2007—[Interruption.] In 2007, you raised the prospect of Withybush closing. Do you know what? It didn't close. You did it again, in the election, in 2010. Did it close? No, it didn't. You did it again in 2011. It didn't close. In 2015, it didn't close. In 2016, it didn't close. Over and over again you threaten and you scare people into thinking that something is going to close when there was never any intention to close Withybush. And I think that you should be ashamed of yourself, stirring up—[Interruption.]—stirring up feelings in Pembrokeshire that really don't merit this kind of attention.

My question follows a similar route to the question posed by Paul Davies. At a time when only 48 per cent of red calls are answered within eight minutes rather than the target of 65 per cent across the Hywel Dda area, the ambulance trust intends to cut the number of ambulances from three to two in Aberystwyth and from three to two in Cardigan too, and to do this without informing the public or the local surgeries. And we know that our paramedics are under huge pressures, and are often queuing outside hospitals in Shrewsbury, Swansea, Glangwili, Withybush, and so on and so forth, and therefore aren't available to respond to emergency calls in Ceredigion, where the targets of four, eight and 12 hours are missed regularly. And, unfortunately, the same is the case across the Hywel Dda area as a whole. I'm very pleased to hear that you are going to provide a briefing to Members in west Wales. So, in that meeting, I look forward to hearing whether it is acceptable, in a time of crisis for the emergency services, that the trust is cutting ambulance services in Aberystwyth and Cardigan by over 30 per cent.

Thank you very much, Cefin. As I said, the service is under immense pressure at the moment. The increase in the number of people calling for ambulance services—well, we've never seen anything like this before. The fact is that about 20 per cent of those calls relate to COVID, so it is a period of immense pressure. The rostering—that's the change that's being made at the moment; rethinking about where ambulances will be located. A lot of work has been done on that. I do hope that there will be an opportunity for you to attend on Friday to listen to the ambulance service explaining what they're doing, why they're doing it and why they're responding in this way. So, there will be an opportunity for you then to ask more specific questions, such as the ones that you've asked this afternoon.

Minister, I'd like to highlight the £68 million investment that Welsh Government has made into the primary and community health services in Hywel Dda health board area in recent years, and also highlight that the integrated care centres in Aberaeron, Cardigan, Fishguard, Cross Hands, Machynlleth and Llanfair Caereinion are welcomed very much by the local community, and they've received significant funding from Welsh Government. I've had really positive feedback from the constituents that use those centres, and the fact that they've made a big difference to the way that they can access care and the way that they can use those centres. So, would you agree with me that investment demonstrates the Welsh Government's commitment to delivering quality health services to residents in rural areas served by the Hywel Dda health board?

Thanks very much, Joyce, and I would agree with you; I think it is important for us to understand what we're trying to do in these places. We are trying to increase the investment, understanding that primary care is a key aspect of how we're delivering health services, making sure that we get all the services, where possible, under one roof. And I'm very pleased to see that the investment that has gone in, as you say, to both Aberaeron and to Aberteifi has been extremely well received by people in those areas, and I very much look forward to visiting, just so that I can see first-hand how effective that model is.