Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Today, I am pleased to provide an update on our programme for government commitment to delivering better access to doctors, nurses, dentists and other health professionals in primary care services.

At the outset, I think it is important to acknowledge that the demand for primary care services outstrips capacity, which undoubtedly provides a challenge in terms of delivering on our commitment to improving access to health professionals, particularly when our budgets are so stretched as a result of long-term austerity and inflationary pressures.

The backlog created by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on waiting times. But, despite this, we all know that the numbers of people in Wales supported by our health and care professionals on a weekly basis is staggering. They are dedicated to providing the best quality of care to all who require it, prioritising on the basis of clinical need where necessary. But we know there's a need to do more.

Our primary care model for Wales is about people accessing the right care, from the right professional for their specific needs, as close to home as possible. Primary care services are integrating, bringing together GPs, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals, dentists, optometrists, and other local services, co-ordinating access and effectively using everyone’s expertise and time.

Whilst working together to deliver services, we also want front-line health professionals to collaborate through the primary care clusters to help plan services that better meet the specific needs of their communities. To strengthen their voices, professional collaboratives have been established over recent months for GPs, nurses, pharmacists, optometrists and allied health professionals, and dental professional collaboratives are next. This transformation is underpinned by a programme of contract reform, which provides the legislative platform to accelerate patient access to primary care health professionals. This aligns to 'A Healthier Wales', and is founded on the key principles of prudent healthcare.

In Wales, we promote a digital-first approach, and I am confident that we will be making significant strides in this area in the next few months and years. Patients can get a range of advice and information from the NHS 111 Wales website, including access to 76 symptom checkers. During January, there were 423,600 visits to the NHS 111 Wales website, with 18,600 completed symptom checkers. And I am particularly pleased that the 111 service is now being extended to mental health support, with the latest 111, press 2 service having been switched on in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board last week.

Where patients need to contact their GP practice, there are initiatives in place to ensure consistency of access across Wales. But we know many people still find it difficult to make a timely appointment to see a GP. That is why our access commitment, introduced in April last year, requires practices to adopt a planned approach to meeting patient need, moving away from the release of all appointments at 8 a.m.. We want to see this way of working become a future contractual requirement for GPs, and I am pleased to say that our initial phase of access standards will be contractually mandated from next week.

With respect to dentistry, we want to reach a position where everyone in Wales who wants access to NHS dental care can get it, but this is not going to happen overnight. On the whole, dentists are independent providers. We are promoting a new way of working, and it takes time to train the relevant workforce. We are working with health boards, who have the responsibility for the provision of NHS dental services, to address gaps in service provision through their operational plans. The overwhelming majority of dental practices are now working under the principles of dental reform, focusing on prevention and needs-based treatment. This is creating capacity for more patients to access NHS dental provision. During this financial year, over 155,000 patients who have historically struggled to get an appointment have now received treatment. From 1 April last year, £2 million of additional recurrent funding was made available to improve access to NHS dentistry across Wales. Health boards are investing this funding in NHS dental services to address local needs.

As part of the reformed contract for our community pharmacies in Wales, since April last year, pharmacists have been able to prescribe and supply medicines for an extended range of conditions, providing increased access to services for the public, and relieving pressure on GP and other NHS services. Pharmacists can now provide treatment for common minor ailments, they can give access to repeat medicines in an emergency, they can provide annual flu vaccinations, emergency contraception, and some forms of regular contraception. And these services are available in 99 per cent of pharmacies across Wales, and they're all provided free at the point of need.