It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon, and of course as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I've seen first-hand evidence from witnesses who are placed in the best position to commentate on the current state of hospital discharges across Wales.

After hearing cases by multiple people across Wales, it's clear that this is an issue that the Government must take immediate action on. However, because the Government has suspended the collection of figures since February 2020, there is no real indication of how big a problem it actually is, and if the cases that we see on a daily basis are our evidence, I expect it could be a lot worse than thought. The last figures showed that many people were prevented from leaving hospital because of delayed transfers of care, which left an additional burden on the availability of beds. This issue leads to greater implications for the NHS, as daily available beds are shockingly low and showing little sign of improving.

Since Labour took responsibility for the running of the Welsh NHS in 1999, we have seen a 29 per cent drop in daily available beds. Although these statistics are appalling, the suffering many face due to this issue is all too real. It's emerged that a patient was forced to wait for 41 hours before ambulance crews transferred care over to A&E, and considering the target time is 15 minutes, this shows that calling it a failure is too soft a verdict on this problem. And in social care, what we need to be aspiring to achieve is a system that is fit for purpose, so that safe discharges can be conducted. Currently, low staffing levels and resources are the main contributors to discharges not occurring, which in turn leads to the whole system blocking, resulting in overcrowded A&E departments and long waits for ambulances, which we see all too often.

Part of the reason for that is that social care staff levels are low and the pay and conditions the staff receive are low. Where the Welsh Government bathe in their minimum-real-living-wage glory at £9.50 an hour, it simply isn't enough. So, what I'm calling for is the alignment of social care staff pay with NHS pay scales, which it is estimated would cost the Government within the region of £9 million. I think this is achievable and I'd be very grateful if the Minister could cover this in responding to the debate this afternoon. Because let's not forget that social care don't just work nine to five, Monday to Friday; they work 24 hours, seven days a week, and work weekends, nights, unsociable hours and sleep-ins. So, I think it's high time that they were rewarded for their commitment to helping our most vulnerable and that we make a career in social care more attractive.

Turning to winter, if I may, and, as I mentioned in health committee last Thursday, I get very anxious at this time of year as the temperatures fall and the nights draw in, and it's simply due to the fact that, year in, year out, we see the horror stories on a daily basis, as pressures are exacerbated during the colder months. It's all well and good talking about winter plans when we're in the full throes of it, but what we'd be best doing is planning for the winter when the sun shines and making sure we have the correct resources in place in a proactive way, so that we can best protect our people from the health conditions that the elements of winter can cause.

I'd just like to conclude my speech today by thanking the Chair of the committee, Russell George, and the hard-working Health and Social Care Committee staff, and, of course, all the witnesses who have contributed to this report this afternoon. Thank you.