Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, for the chance to contribute to this debate today. As a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I've been moved by the contributions and testimonies of those affected by waiting times crises here in Wales. The frustration that my colleagues in the NHS express isn't just the frustration at them being unable to do their jobs and, indeed, the jobs that they love; my colleagues feel that they are letting their patients down, leaving them in pain and agony, yet despite their best efforts and hard work in many cases, there is nothing that they can do. And after 11 years working in the NHS for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, I know exactly how they feel. But whilst the Government wants to squarely and only blame the COVID-19 pandemic, I will remind this Chamber, as other colleagues have done, that waiting times in Wales doubled in the year before the pandemic struck. On behalf of those who work in the Welsh NHS, I urge the Minister to properly listen to the committee's recommendations, and I must emphasise that this waiting time disaster needs addressing and fast.

Each one of the one in five people in Wales sitting on a waiting list, the 148,884 people under the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board awaiting the start of their treatment, are indeed somebody's loved one, a loved one who is suffering during these delays. And with respect to emergency care, only 54.5 per cent of responses to immediately life-threatening calls arrived within eight minutes, down from 60.6 per cent in May 2021, and a staggering 58.3 per cent of amber calls to patients, which includes those suffering from strokes, took over an hour to reach. This Government can blame ambulance shortages, staffing gaps or the pandemic, but these issues and this backlog were here before COVID, particularly so in north Wales, as Sam Rowlands alluded to in his speech. And other UK nations facing the same challenges are faring better on this issue, with the median waiting time of 12.6 weeks as compared to 22.5 in Wales—sorry, the 12.6 weeks was in reference to the rates in England. It was beyond disappointing to me and many others when the previous health Minister said it was foolish to try and tackle these issues earlier on. However, what my constituents and NHS colleagues want, regardless of the cause of the backlogs, is this Welsh Government needs to get on with the solution.

Minister, it is positive that you have accepted the 26 out of the 27 of the committee's recommendations, and the last in principle, but I'm disappointed that you didn't provide sufficient detail on the implementation in your response, and this is not only my view but also the view of many key stakeholders, some of whom I was lucky to meet this morning in the health committee. And it's also frustrating that the reason given for your partial acceptance of the other recommendation, which is recommendation 23, was because it would be complicated. Knowing the Minister, I know there's nothing too complicated for you to tackle and resolve, and I hope that you will take another look at that. To highlight the importance of the initial recommendation of this committee's report, asking that

'In addition to setting out how the waiting times backlog will be addressed, the Minister for Health and Social Services must ensure that the Welsh Government’s planned care recovery plan includes a focus on supporting patients to wait well.'

And I'd just like to share with you the plight of my constituent, who is Miss Isolde Williams. She is just one of the many people who are suffering due to the treatment delays and has been waiting since her initial appointment in 2017 for specialist treatment and a replacement for her knee. And she shared this with me, and I quote:

'My quality of life continues to deteriorate. I am totally reliant on my car to get out, and I am scared of how bad I am going to get before I get this treatment. This delay has led to further problems in my leg and hip, and I just wonder when all this is going to end. I am losing faith in our health service.'

Unquote. In conclusion, Minister, what assurances can you give Isolde and so many others across Wales in her position that they will receive the treatment that they need as swiftly as possible and that no-one should have to go through these drawn-out delays without adequate support in the future? Thank you.