Can I thank the Petitions Committee as well for bringing this forward? I do echo your points, if I may, Chair, around that fact that any hospital closure, any transition, any change or new location does produce anxiety and challenges. I present a balance here. I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t heard loud calls, in terms of people who have contacted me, in favour of us keeping Withybush, but it has been a balance. Many people have said that they want Withybush to stay, but there are also others who have accepted the need for change. They understand the challenge of the geography of the area, the sparsity of services, the profile of the residents, and the seasonal churn, as we’ve heard, in population, which does require a change in approach. I do echo many of the comments that have been made to date.

People are really concerned about the distance that residents, particularly in the west of Pembrokeshire, would have to undertake, and those new services and the transition to those services. As an absolute minimum, residents need certainty and a commitment that the emergency care centre at Withybush will not be downgraded until any planned new hospital is fully functional and has been tried and tested with a period of clear review and engagement with patients and their families, and that the new integrated health and well-being centres are also fully functioning. As we’ve heard, ambulance response times have repeatedly made headlines for all the wrong reasons, so it’s very understandable that people are raising concerns around the distance for patients to any new hospital site and A&E.

In conclusion to my very brief contribution to this debate, I would be interested to hear from the Minister about any reassurances that she can give about any new model being proposed by Hywel Dda, and the potential locations as well, ensuring that patients will be able to get the right care at the right time, particularly those patients who need that emergency care. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.