I want to start this month’s column by sending my sincere condolences to the First Minister and my good friend Mark Drakeford, following the sudden and unexpected passing of his wife Clare.

They were together for more than 45 years and I cannot begin to imagine the pain he must be feeling at this time. I was only with Mark a few weeks ago at an event in Cardiff and there he spoke about how he spends his time away from politics.

I am sure I speak for everyone across Newport East and Severnside, who will also want to pass on their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Clare and Mark.

The time we have with those we hold most dear to us is precious. I was recently reminded of this myself when I met one of my younger constituents Elliot and his mother Lucy.

Elliot is five years old and suffers from a rare condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a genetic disorder characterised by the progressive loss of muscle.

As things stand, he is not expected to live beyond his early twenties - but there is a lot of research taking place in this area. The hope is this will lead to some future developments and improve the life chances for Elliot and others with the same or similar condition.

I will do everything I can to support and raise awareness of the condition and the charity she has set up in his name - www.duchenneuk.org/elliots-endeavours/ .

Health and wellbeing more generally have always been areas I’ve focused a lot of my campaigning around – and this will be something I intend to continue throughout 2023.

There are no easy answers to the current challenges and pressures facing our health system. However, I feel we need to look at how we can be far more preventative in our approach to healthcare.

One of these ways is through social prescribing and that's why I am keen to see activities like the popular Parkrun in Wales linked up with more GP surgeries.

At present, just under a quarter of practices are registered as “Parkrun practices". Along with local individuals like Chris Davies from Lliswerry Runners, I am keen to see this figure grow.

By its very nature, our health service is a very reactive one. Often what is coming at it is extremely demanding on every last bit of its resource.

But if we are serious about supporting and protecting the NHS for the longer term, we must utilise all possible sources of help from the preventative side.