1. What is the Welsh Government doing to improve health services in Pembrokeshire over the next twelve months? OAQ(5)0610(FM)

Well, our priority is to provide the people of Pembrokeshire with health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for patients.

First Minister, it’s important that we do improve health services in Pembrokeshire over the next 12 months to start to tackle obesity, because, unfortunately, obesity rates in the Hywel Dda Local Health Board area have increased as compared with other health boards. Now, I accept that the Assembly passed the Public Health (Wales) Bill recently, which will assist in tackling the problems of obesity, but can you tell us what specific steps the Welsh Government intends to introduce in the next 12 months in order to start to tackle obesity problems?

Well, of course, we have considered this previously, and it’s fair to say that there’s more yet to be done. We will build on the basis of the At in order to ensure that strategies are put in place to deal with this problem. It’s a problem not just in Wales, but in every wealthy country in western Europe, and, of course, it’s arising, too, in countries where it hasn’t been seen previously.

First Minister, you will know that the people of Pembrokeshire are very eager to return to a situation where paediatric services are available in Withybush during the night-time hours so that they’re available 24/7, and that a petition is soon to be presented to the Assembly to that end. Just for clarity, do you agree that that is the ideal position that we should aim towards, and do you, as a Government, have a timetable for achieving that?

Well, what’s important, of course, is that services are secure. Where services have been amended, and the royal colleges have said that that is something that should have been done, then we support that as a Government. But, having said that, we must ensure that every service that can be delivered at Withybush is available in the hospital, but that doesn’t mean to say that everything that people would wish to see has to be there. We must ensure that the services are safe for the people of Pembrokeshire and the Hywel Dda LHB area.