English: Thank you. On behalf of the Petitions Committee, thank you for the opportunity to introduce this debate today. This is the eighth petition to have been referred for a Plenary debate, having received more than 5,000 signatures, since the process was introduced in March 2017. The petition, 'Make Learning Disability training mandatory for hospital staff', was submitted by the Paul Ridd Foundation, having collected 5,654 signatures. The foundation was established in 2016 by the sister and brother of Paul Ridd, who died whilst in Morriston Hospital in Swansea in 2009, at the age of 53. Now, I want to start by describing some of the background to this petition and, in particular, to speak about Paul Ridd. From birth, Paul had severe learning difficulties, which meant that he spent most of his life in care. On 31 December 2008, he was admitted to hospital with a perforated bowel. This required major emergency surgery and, following the operation, he spent three weeks in intensive care, under sedation. Following this, Paul was moved to a general ward and his sedation was reduced. It was at this point that his family describe a deterioration in the care he received. They also felt that he was moved prematurely. They have referred to a number of issues that arose in relation to his care on the general ward. These included a loss of his notes on arrival, delays in administering medication, long periods with no observations taken, and a lack of recognition given to signs that his condition was deteriorating. This is heartbreaking and sadly serves as a reminder of health cases most of us here will be handling for constituents today. But, underlying all of these concerns is the petitioners' view that medical staff did not take Paul's learning disabilities into account or listen to the concerns and observations raised by his family and carers. Sadly, Paul died in hospital on 23 January 2009. Now, two years after his death, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales published a report into complaints made by Paul Ridd's family. This upheld many of their concerns and concluded that Paul's nursing care on the ward had been very poor and, when combined with his clinical care, had produced an unacceptable level of treatment. A coroner's report, following an inquest in 2013, found that he had died from natural causes that were contributed to by neglect. So, I certainly wish to offer my condolences to Paul's family, at this point, for their loss, and also to commend them for the work they have done since then to ensure that lessons are learnt. I am sure that their commitment to improving the care that people with learning disabilities receive in hospitals will already have helped countless other individuals. I will now move on to the specifics of the petition. Now, as I have mentioned previously, Paul's sister, Jayne, and brother, Jonathan, established the Paul Ridd Foundation in 2016. Their work has already led to the development and launch of a pathway care bundle for people with learning disabilities in 2014, with some support from the Welsh Government. This is designed to help hospital staff ensure that people with learning disabilities do receive a fair and equitable service when they visit hospital. However, when the Petitions Committee first considered the petition in January, the petitioners described concern over difficulty ensuring that the care bundle is implemented consistently throughout Wales. Key to achieving this, they argue, is for learning disability awareness training to be made mandatory for staff in hospitals, as outlined within their petition. So, this training would start from the principle of what a learning disability is - an understanding that the Paul Ridd Foundation contend is frequently missing amongst staff in practice. Training should stress the importance of delivering an equal standard of healthcare to people with a learning disability, and to inform all staff of the need to make necessary adjustments to services, so that they are responsive and flexible to the individual needs of patients. It is this type of tailored care that they consider was lacking when their brother was receiving hospital treatment in 2009. As well as the benefits to the individual patient, the foundation stresses that providing this training will assist staff to perform their roles to the best of their ability, and to do so for all patients in their care. They describe their view that training would complement the existing pathway care bundle by ensuring that all NHS staff are informed about its existence and what it covers, and that this would help improve what they describe as 'sporadic awareness' of its existence at present. The foundation describes successfully delivering training of this type to over 1,000 learning disability champions, many of whom believe that the training should be mandatory for all staff. I am also aware, as I am sure other Members are, of other families of people with learning disabilities who are concerned about the care that their loved ones receive from the health service.
Welsh: Diolch. Ar ran y Pwyllgor Deisebau, diolch am y cyfle i gyflwyno'r ddadl hon heddiw. Dyma'r wythfed ddeiseb i gael ei chyfeirio ar gyfer dadl yn y Cyfarfod Llawn, ar ôl derbyn mwy na 5,000 o lofnodion, ers cyflwyno'r broses ym mis Mawrth 2017. Cyflwynwyd y ddeiseb, 'Gwneud hyfforddiant Anabledd Dysgu yn orfodol ar gyfer staff ysbytai', gan Sefydliad Paul Ridd, ar ôl casglu 5,654 o lofnodion. Ffurfiwyd y sefydliad yn 2016 gan chwaer a brawd Paul Ridd, a fu farw tra yn Ysbyty Treforys yn Abertawe yn 2009, yn 53 oed. Nawr, rwyf am ddechrau drwy ddisgrifio rhywfaint o gefndir y ddeiseb hon, ac yn benodol, rwyf am siarad am Paul Ridd. Ers ei enedigaeth, roedd gan Paul anawsterau dysgu difrifol, a olygai ei fod wedi treulio'r rhan fwyaf o'i fywyd mewn gofal. Ar 31 Rhagfyr 2008, cafodd ei dderbyn i'r ysbyty gyda choluddyn tyllog. Roedd angen llawdriniaeth fawr ar frys ac yn dilyn y llawdriniaeth, treuliodd dair wythnos mewn gofal dwys, ar dawelyddion. Yn dilyn hyn, symudwyd Paul i ward gyffredinol a lleihawyd ei dawelyddion. Ar y pwynt hwn, dywedodd ei deulu fod y gofal a gafodd wedi dirywio. Roeddent hefyd yn teimlo ei fod wedi cael ei symud cyn pryd. Maent wedi cyfeirio at nifer o faterion a gododd mewn perthynas â'i ofal ar y ward gyffredinol. Roedd y rhain yn cynnwys colli ei nodiadau pan gyrhaeddodd, oedi cyn rhoi meddyginiaeth, cyfnodau hir heb wneud arsylwadau, a diffyg cydnabyddiaeth i'r arwyddion fod ei gyflwr yn dirywio. Mae hyn yn dorcalonnus ac yn anffodus mae'n ein hatgoffa o achosion iechyd y mae'r rhan fwyaf ohonom yma yn ymdrin â hwy ar ran etholwyr heddiw. Ond yn sail i'r holl bryderon hyn, mae'r deisebwyr o'r farn nad oedd staff meddygol wedi ystyried anableddau dysgu Paul nac yn gwrando ar y sylwadau a'r pryderon a fynegwyd gan ei deulu a'i ofalwyr. Yn anffodus, bu farw Paul yn yr ysbyty ar 23 Ionawr 2009. Nawr, ddwy flynedd ar ôl ei farwolaeth, cyhoeddodd Ombwdsmon Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Cymru adroddiad ar y cwynion a wnaed gan deulu Paul Ridd. Roedd hyn yn cadarnhau llawer o'u pryderon a daeth i'r casgliad fod gofal nyrsio Paul ar y ward wedi bod yn wael iawn a'i fod, o'i gyfuno â'i ofal clinigol, wedi cynhyrchu lefel annerbyniol o driniaeth. Roedd adroddiad y crwner, yn dilyn cwest yn 2013, yn dangos ei fod wedi marw o achosion naturiol a bod esgeulustod wedi cyfrannu atynt. Felly, ar y pwynt hwn, rwy'n sicr eisiau cydymdeimlo â theulu Paul heddiw ar eu colled, ac rwyf hefyd eisiau eu canmol am y gwaith y maent wedi'i wneud ers hynny i sicrhau bod gwersi'n cael eu dysgu. Rwy'n siŵr bod eu hymrwymiad i wella'r gofal a gaiff pobl ag anableddau dysgu mewn ysbytai eisoes wedi helpu nifer fawr o unigolion eraill. Symudaf ymlaen yn awr at fanylion y ddeiseb. Nawr, fel rwyf wedi'i grybwyll o'r blaen, sefydlodd chwaer Paul, Jayne, a'i frawd, Jonathan, Sefydliad Paul Ridd yn 2016. Mae eu gwaith eisoes wedi arwain at ddatblygu a lansio bwndel llwybr gofal ar gyfer pobl ag anableddau dysgu yn 2014, gyda pheth cymorth gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Bwriad hwn yw helpu staff ysbytai i sicrhau bod pobl ag anableddau dysgu'n cael gwasanaeth teg a chyfartal pan fyddant yn mynd i'r ysbyty. Fodd bynnag, pan ystyriodd y Pwyllgor Deisebau y ddeiseb am y tro cyntaf ym mis Ionawr, disgrifiodd y deisebwyr bryder ynghylch anhawster i sicrhau bod y bwndel gofal yn cael weithredu'n gyson ledled Cymru. Maent yn dadlau mai'r unig ffordd o gyflawni hyn yw gwneud hyfforddiant ymwybyddiaeth o anableddau dysgu yn orfodol i staff ysbytai, fel yr amlinellwyd yn eu deiseb. Felly, byddai'r hyfforddiant hwn yn dechrau o'r egwyddor o beth yw anabledd dysgu - mae Sefydliad Paul Ridd yn dweud bod y ddealltwriaeth hon ar goll yn aml ymhlith staff ar lefel ymarferol. Dylai hyfforddiant bwysleisio pwysigrwydd darparu gofal iechyd o safon gyfartal i bobl ag anabledd dysgu, a hysbysu pob aelod o staff am yr angen i wneud addasiadau angenrheidiol i wasanaethau, fel eu bod yn ymatebol ac yn hyblyg i anghenion unigol cleifion. Dyma'r math o ofal wedi'i deilwra roeddent yn ystyried ei fod yn brin pan oedd eu brawd yn cael triniaeth yn yr ysbyty yn 2009. Yn ogystal â'r manteision i'r claf unigol, mae'r sefydliad yn pwysleisio y bydd darparu'r hyfforddiant hwn yn helpu staff i gyflawni eu rolau hyd eithaf eu gallu, a gwneud hynny ar gyfer pob claf yn eu gofal. Maent yn disgrifio eu barn y byddai hyfforddiant yn ategu'r bwndel llwybr gofal presennol drwy sicrhau bod holl staff y GIG yn cael gwybod am ei fodolaeth a beth sydd ynddo, ac y byddai hynny'n helpu i wella'r hyn a ddisgrifiant fel 'ymwybyddiaeth ysbeidiol' o'i fodolaeth ar hyn o bryd. Mae'r sefydliad yn disgrifio'r gwaith o ddarparu hyfforddiant o'r math hwn yn llwyddiannus i dros 1,000 o hyrwyddwyr anabledd dysgu, ac mae llawer ohonynt yn credu y dylai'r hyfforddiant fod yn orfodol i bob aelod o staff. Rwyf hefyd yn ymwybodol, fel y mae Aelodau eraill, rwy'n siŵr, o deuluoedd eraill sy'n poeni am y gofal y mae eu hanwyliaid sydd ag anableddau dysgu yn ei gael gan y gwasanaeth iechyd.