Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m grateful to the Business Committee in the Senedd for allowing us to debate the petition this afternoon.

The petition P-06-1277, ‘Save A&E. Withybush General Hospital must retain 24 hour, 7 days a week, Consultant Led urgent care’ was created by Jacqueline Doig and received 10,678 signatures. The petition itself states, and I quote, Deputy Presiding Officer:

'Moving care out of county puts adults & children at risk of poor outcomes or even death. It wastes crucial time, when time is not on our side.

'We have 125,000 residents & millions of tourists. By implementing the downgrades, HDUHB, will be knowingly putting their lives at risk. We re-iterate, we are a rural, widespread county, with poor roads and public transport network. Refinery, gas plant, ferry ports, firing range, extreme sports, plus one of the most dangerous professions: farming.'

'HDUHB may infer that the “Golden Hour” is no longer relevant, with better equipped ambulances & higher trained staff, but that is dependent on an ambulance being available to help & give that immediate care. That is increasingly not the case, as ambulances fail to attend, as they are being sent out of county, unable to offload and unable to return to county, to give the help needed.'

The petition goes on, Deputy Presiding Officer, to explain more events and situations that the petitioner and others have experienced.

But one of the innovations that the Petitions Committee has introduced this past year into our petitions process in the Senedd has been heat maps, and I know that may sound dull to plenty, but, actually, it's a really important point that I want to make this afternoon, Deputy Presiding Officer, because the maps actually show very clearly where petitions have been signed across Wales and the United Kingdom. This particular petition has one of the most clear-cut maps we’ve ever seen as a committee, with over 85 per cent of the signatures coming from the two Pembrokeshire constituencies. Clearly, this is an issue that provokes strong—extremely strong—local passion, and I’m sure that Members representing the constituencies this afternoon will explore those issues in greater detail.

But, I should say that that local passion for our health services in general isn’t restricted to Pembrokeshire: it exists everywhere, in every corner of Wales. And all of us in this Chamber are extremely passionate about the areas we represent, and we are equally passionate about our health services and the services they provide us. We all represent areas where our constituents are passionate about their services and the services that they receive, and the way that they are provided.

So, I'm very much looking forward to today's debate. I had the pleasure of welcoming today's debate to the Chamber, and I do look forward to hearing more about the concerns of people, in particular in Pembrokeshire, where this petition was so heavily signed, and the wider Hywel Dda health board area. But, I also look forward to hearing from Members across the Chamber of related issues and concerns in other parts of Wales. And, of course, we all look forward to the Minister’s response.

Deputy Presiding Officer, while this petition is about a hospital in Haverfordwest and the services that are provided there, the issue is one that resonates across the nation. So, I’m pleased to be able to open today's debate. I'm pleased to give the 10,678 people who signed this petition, in particular, a chance to raise their voice in their Parliament, the home of Welsh democracy, and I'm grateful that their concerns will be heard by the Welsh Government, and I very much look forward to hearing the rest of the debate. Diolch yn fawr.