Let's not beat about the bush: COVID-19 has not caused this waiting list crisis. Yes, it has exacerbated problems, but those were issues already present within the Welsh NHS under the remit of this Welsh Labour Government.

As of January 2020—2020—12,428 treatment pathways were waiting over 36 weeks for treatment in north Wales. That already horrific figure has now reached 58,988 in February 2022. It's the highest number on record and is 250 per cent higher than the low of 17 in May 2012. Clearly, the staggering worsening delays we are encountering in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board form part of over a decade of decline and overcentralisation in three major hospitals—Ysbyty Maelor Wrecsam, Glan Clwyd and Gwynedd. Look at Llandudno hospital: prior to the pandemic, it already had empty wards, and then the management team at the board went and closed the ambulatory care unit—ACU—in 2021, a newly opened unit to actually reduce pressure on Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Ysbyty Gwynedd and even Wrexham Maelor. Despite having an excellent minor injuries unit, which saw 98.4 per cent of patients spend less than the four-hour target time in the emergency department, its responsibilities now have decreased to around nine injury categories. And this—. We were told, once the A&E department went, that we would have an all-singing, all-dancing minor injuries unit, and, again, one that would take pressure off the three major hospitals. And yet, as we speak, the services there are being reduced. Consequently, even residents living in the town opt to go now straight to Glan Clwyd or Gwynedd out of fear that the MIU will simply refer them there. This is compounding the pressure in the worst-performing A&E in the nation. At Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, less than one in two patients are seen within four hours, and one in four patients wait over 12 hours.

Now, I've been leading my own campaign to try and reduce pressure on the three major hospitals. The health board is undertaking a six-month bridging service—and, Minister, this is where you've got people in beds in those three major hospitals who really should be in the social care system. So, you know, because I think you've welcomed it, this bridging service—. But the costs of it, it's only going to be open for six months. We need that to be a longer functioning service. These are people who are medically fit to be discharged and have a suitable care package in place, and these are being transferred to the specially configured Aberconwy ward in Llandudno. But no initiative can be judged on its merit on a six-month basis.

I hope you will agree that increasing the role of our smaller hospitals is a key lever at our disposal. And I will always continue to stand up and fight hard to see services integrated at Llandudno hospital, because you've promised me, as have previous chief executives of the health board, and previous Ministers, that Llandudno General Hospital does have an integral part to play. So, you know, actions speak better than words.

At present, the Welsh Government management of the Welsh NHS has caused a situation in which the Stroke Association are warning that delayed transfers of care are causing a number of problems in emergency care for stroke patients. Cancer Research UK has stated that the quality statement lacks detail and accountability. It does not set the vision needed to support services to recover from the impact of the pandemic whilst improving cancer survival. We certainly have a crisis with mental health services in north Wales. Despite the Deputy Minister claiming that mental health for children and young people would be a top priority, only 38.1 receive their local primary mental health support services assessment in north Wales within 28 days, and that was in December. Compare that to Cardiff, however, where the figure is 91.3.

And it gets worse. The Nant y Glyn community mental health team in Colwyn Bay is failing our residents. I have constituents who are in mental health crisis, and, when they reach out to this Nant y Glyn clinic, they can't get through to the centre on the phone, let alone access any specific support. I've asked Fleur Evans now to meet me with Mr Kenny Burns, the manager of that centre, because it is not good enough. People are coming into my office seeking urgent mental health support, people are also coming into my office threatening suicide because they cannot access this support. I've raised this year after year after year here, and you can turn around, Minister, with all due respect—and I do have a lot of respect for you; I just feel that we come here week after week, we raise the same concerns, you listen and you respond, but it's not words I want, it's action for my residents—