I'd just like to start my contribution with this reflection on this debate: I feel this is a really poor way to do politics. This place, in my view, is much better than that. I don't see how spending 60 minutes, which we will do today, plus the time we have all spent, those of us speaking, in preparing for this debate, will resolve anything for the NHS staff and patients who have not received the care that they need.

I, as do the constituents who write to me, and I know, to many of you, week in and week out, want to concentrate on solutions and what we do next. What are we doing to tackle ambulance waiting times? What are we doing to tackle long waiting times for dentistry? And what are we doing to recruit and retain more nurses and social workers? I don't see how removing the Minister will actually do anything around those issues.

I have been critical, as many of you know, of the decision—[Interruption.] I won't, sorry. I'm not taking any interventions, I'll just be clear about that. I have been critical, as I know many others have, of the decision making around Betsi Cadwaladr. The Minister seems to have chosen the technicalities of the law and what authority she has or doesn't have in order to intervene at Betsi, rather than acknowledging that it is to her that staff and patients look to drive improvements. It was wrong to sack the independent members of the board, as it seemed they were the only ones who were actively raising concerns. This needs to be acknowledged, and the chaos that that decision caused as well.

I have been critical of poor performance across all of our health services, whether it's children and young people waiting months for mental health support, people waiting months and sometimes years for dental treatment, ambulance response times, targets being repeatedly missed. I've also disagreed with the Minister and other Cabinet members who deny that our health service is in a state of crisis. People in north Wales need to see a fundamental change in the improving of health services in Betsi Cadwaladr, and we all need to see and hear an acknowledgement of the scale of the crisis in our health service across Wales.

One issue that I've repeatedly raised is NHS dentistry, and I know some of you have touched on that as well. For the Minister to deny the existence of a different-tiered access to services to dentistry in last week's statement was, I'm afraid, quite astonishing. Again, it doesn't tell us, or the people we represent, that the problems in NHS dentistry are properly understood. The figures are clear: 93 per cent of dental practices are not accepting new adult NHS patients. In a recent survey of 250 high-street dentists, more than a third said that they would reduce their NHS contracts this year. Ninety per cent of dentists disagreed with the current reform measures, and there is no glossing over the rift in the relationship between dentists and the Welsh Government. I remain deeply, deeply concerned about the attitude towards the profession.

But, again, I say, 'Will changing who sits at the table resolve the issues in dentistry, with waiting lists, contract reform and investment?' In my view, this debate is an attempt to grab headlines rather than solve the issues at hand, and I think that it is dishonest and that the public will see through it. In closing, I make no secret of my significant concerns around the NHS in Wales, but I don't think a merry-go-round of Ministers around the Cabinet table will deliver the systemic changes that we need.

So, what could we have spent the last 60 minutes discussing? Extending nurse staffing levels to more parts of our NHS, progressing plans for a national care service, or whether we should consider the NHS executive being independent of Government to ensure scrutiny and accountability. I won’t be supporting the motion today, but I want to make clear that I’m not content with the performance of the health service. I will continue to ensure that I bring forward those challenges. This is an opportunity, I hope, for a reset, and that we move forward doing what people want and expect of this Senedd—to do politics differently, and better, and to shape ideas to tackle the challenges people face. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr iawn.