May I begin by thanking the committee for their work on this important report? I think that it's very difficult to read, but it reflects the casework that we all receive, and I think it's very important that we remind ourselves very often that there are people behind every statistic, and, although we see that there is a plan in operation, that doesn't make it easier for those people who are living in pain or in a situation that does endanger their lives.

I had a question specifically with regard to section 3 of the report about those who are paying to go private at present, and this idea that came across very clearly of a two-tier system, and the shocking fact, if truth be told, that we're seeing one of the consultants in hospital considering, when they look at a patient, 'Well, is this person going to be able to afford to go private or not?' and that that goes through their minds. That echoes something that I've heard with my casework, with people telling me that they're being encouraged to go private, and perhaps they look as if they can afford to go private, but the truth is that they can't afford to do so.

One of the things that angered them recently—perhaps people in the Chamber have seen the BBC Wales investigates programme about the NHS, and the interview with the chief executive of the NHS in Wales, where she denied that the health service is in crisis. The question asked to me by a constituent at that time was, 'Well, why isn't somebody willing to acknowledge the scale of the crisis? If people were to acknowledge and recognise that there is a crisis and an emergency, at least they would then acknowledge the size of the problem and the size of the pain that we're facing.' I think there is something in that, that we need to be honest with people instead of trying to hide behind different plans and schemes. One of the things that the same constituent asked me was, 'Well, am I meant to just accept that my life is less important, because the health service can't provide the treatment that I need for two years?' She knows that doctors have said that she needs treatment as soon as possible, that she could die, but she has to wait for two years before receiving that treatment, and she can't afford to do so.

So, Minister, what would you share as a message to those people who are in similar situations today? And are you willing to do what the chief executive of the NHS failed to do and acknowledge today that there is a crisis and that we should come together as a Senedd to ensure that we come through that crisis and ensure that things do improve for people in these crisis situations?