Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. It’s a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon and to, indeed, close the debate. I’m quite passionate about strokes, really, because it was what I did for a living before I was elected to the Senedd. We speak about some of the most well-known symptoms of stroke. It can include slurred speech, losing strength on one side of the body; they’re the most well-known symptoms. But if you really want to see some of the range of symptoms of strokes, then I’d urge anyone to spend a day on a stroke unit or a rehab facility to see the actual reality of some of these cases. In the worst situations, people can lose their mobility, they can lose all their freedoms and independence, they need feeding, they lose all their strength to do their own personal care, they need showering, they need bathing. They’re the worst things. And 24, 48 hours before that, they lived a normal life, like we all do now, and to go from that, to that extreme, is why I stress the importance this afternoon of this early intervention, the thrombolysis, the physiotherapy and getting those things in place as soon as possible so it can maximise the chances of success in rehabilitation. Sometimes it can’t be done, that’s the reality of it; sometimes stroke cases are just too acute to achieve any rehabilitation, but, where we can do that, we should really be investing in allied health professionals, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and thrombolysis to make sure that we’re giving people the best chance to have a full recovery and restore some independence and dignity in their lives.

Mark Isherwood opened up the debate, highlighting that it’s World Stroke Day on Saturday, the twenty-ninth, and stressed the importance of having public awareness across all levels of the health system. Rhun ap Iorwerth mentioned it’s the fourth main cause of death, and that was echoed by many other contributions this afternoon, and, again, the importance of allied health professionals in the healthcare system to maximise the potential of rehabilitation. Sam Kurtz mentioned some of the local things in his constituency, including the Carmarthen Stroke Group, and some of the local stats at Withybush and Glangwili hospitals, and then James Evans mentioned his constituency and some of the problems in Brecon and Radnorshire of his local residents having to go over the border into England, where maybe there could be some more local provision so that people in Powys can get the treatment that they deserve.

I didn’t agree with Jenny Rathbone’s statement on not being included on the red list. It just speaks for itself; it’s the fourth biggest killer, Jenny, so that speaks for itself in terms of its importance of getting this as a priority.