Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:22 pm on 29 September 2021.
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.