One in 10 women have anal sphincter injuries as a result of childbirth. It’s hardly ever spoken about because people feel too embarrassed to raise it. But I’m glad to say that it’s rising up the medical agenda: there’s a conference being organised by a new charity, which is championing mothers with anal sphincter injuries in childbirth, and it’s being held at the Royal College of Medicine. A lot of eminent physicians and surgeons are involved, and the president of the Royal College of Midwives. So, I very much welcome a light being shone on something that is rarely spoken about, because it causes misery to women across Wales.

So, I’m really concerned that Wales is not going to necessarily be at the forefront of tackling this issue. I wondered if you could tell us why Cwm Taf recently had its application for sacral nerve stimulation therapy for faecal incontinence turned down by the efficiency-through-technology fund, even though Wales is the only country in the UK that doesn’t offer this NICE-approved treatment. Would you be prepared to look at it again, given that there will be a lot more pressure on us to establish why it is we are not able to offer this service to so many mothers?