English: Cabinet Secretary, I agree with you; we all want to strive for safe and compassionate care for all our constituents and people in Wales, and I therefore welcome the statement that you've given today, particularly on the attempts to ensure that we get that during the winter pressure months. Can I also join you in praising the professionalism and dedication of our staff? I declare an interest in that my wife is one of those members of the front-line staff. But, it is important that they actually are recognised for the hard work that they put in, and I join Angela Burns in a couple of points. I am concerned about the workforce levels, particularly, sometimes, when we see sickness levels increased as a consequence of the pressure that puts on the remaining staff, and I would like to have, perhaps, consideration of how that will be tackled, particularly also in relation to district nurses, because district nurses - as you identified, there are more in the community, but there is a shortage of district nurses across the areas and, as a consequence, I have seen directly that there are sometimes difficulties in getting district nurses to come out and support individuals, because of the pressures upon them. On your statement, a couple of points: you were talking about the extra beds. I am going to ask the same question about the staffing levels and the resource levels for those extra beds, because what I don't want - . I'm often told by the health boards, 'More beds and we'll fill them quickly'. I don't want to see more beds being filled up and then just being stagnant, because delays in transfer of care sometimes in my patch are not as good, perhaps, as they are across Wales. It's important that we put the staffing levels in to ensure that those are used effectively. You talk about an improved use of social workers, not more social workers. Are we going to be looking at more social workers based in hospitals so we can get those care packages rather than an improved use of social workers? You mentioned additional step-up, step-down services in your statement, and that the beds are also used as a step up for people in the community to avoid hospital admission, but who's going to actually admit them into those units? Who's going to make the decision as to whether they go into those units? Will that be a GP? Will that be a nurse? Will it be the individual? Who is actually going to be deciding whether they go into those particular units and those particular beds? I also want to perhaps ask questions about the elective surgery we often see postponed or cancelled. Last year in my own health board area they cancelled several elective surgery cases. For a couple of months, as a consequence, we saw patients having further delays and experiencing further pain and anguish whilst they waited for the next surgery to come through. What sort of indication has been given by the health boards that they are taking those matters into consideration and that patients will not be experiencing those lengthy delays? We often see them going up to 36 weeks, and sometimes beyond the 36-week target, but I don't want to see these patients going beyond simply because they haven't considered how they will tackle elective surgery during that winter period.
Welsh: Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, rwy'n cytuno â chi; rydym ni i gyd eisiau ymdrechu i sicrhau gofal diogel a thosturiol i'n holl etholwyr a phobl yng Nghymru, ac felly rwy'n croesawu'r datganiad yr ydych chi wedi'i roi heddiw, yn enwedig o ran yr ymdrechion i sicrhau ein bod ni'n gallu cyflawni hynny yn ystod misoedd prysuraf y gaeaf. A gaf i hefyd ymuno â chi i ganmol proffesiynoldeb ac ymroddiad ein haelodau staff? Rwy'n datgan buddiant gan fod fy ngwraig yn un o'r aelodau hynny o staff y rheng flaen. Ond, mae'n bwysig eu bod mewn gwirionedd yn cael eu cydnabod am eu gwaith caled, ac rwy'n cytuno ag Angela Burns ar ambell bwynt. Rwy'n pryderu am lefelau'r gweithlu, yn enwedig, weithiau, pan welwn gynnydd yn lefelau o salwch o ganlyniad i'r pwysau y mae hynny'n ei roi ar weddill aelodau'r staff, a hoffwn i chi, efallai, ystyried sut yr eir i'r afael â hynny, yn enwedig hefyd mewn cysylltiad â nyrsys ardal, gan fod nyrsys ardal - fel y gwnaethoch chi nodi, ceir mwy ohonyn nhw yn y gymuned, ond ceir prinder o nyrsys ardal ar draws y meysydd ac, o ganlyniad, rwyf wedi gweld yn uniongyrchol bod anawsterau o bryd i'w gilydd o ran cael nyrsys ardal i ddod allan a chefnogi unigolion, oherwydd y pwysau sydd arnynt. Ynglŷn â'ch datganiad, ambell bwynt: roeddech chi'n sôn am y gwelyau ychwanegol. Rwyf am ofyn yr un cwestiwn ynglŷn â'r lefelau staffio a'r lefelau adnoddau ar gyfer y gwelyau ychwanegol hynny, oherwydd yr hyn nad wyf yn dymuno - . Yr hyn a ddywedir wrthyf yn aml gan fyrddau iechyd, yw 'Mwy o welyau ac fe wnawn ni eu llenwi'n gyflym'. Nid wyf eisiau gweld mwy o welyau'n cael eu llenwi ac wedyn yn cael eu gadael, oherwydd o bryd i'w gilydd nid yw oedi wrth drosglwyddo gofal yn fy ardal i gystal, efallai, ag ydyw ar draws Cymru. Mae'n bwysig bod gennym ni ddigon o aelodau staff er mwyn sicrhau bod y rhai hynny'n cael eu defnyddio'n effeithiol. Rydych chi'n sôn am ddefnydd gwell o weithwyr cymdeithasol, nid mwy o weithwyr cymdeithasol. A ydym ni am ystyried mwy o weithwyr cymdeithasol mewn ysbytai fel y gallwn ni sicrhau'r pecynnau gofal hynny yn hytrach na gwell defnydd o weithwyr cymdeithasol? Gwnaethoch chi sôn am wasanaethau cam-i-fyny, a cham-i-lawr ychwanegol yn eich datganiad, ac y caiff y gwelyau eu defnyddio fel cam-i-fyny ar gyfer pobl yn y gymuned er mwyn osgoi derbyniadau i'r ysbyty, ond pwy mewn gwirionedd sy'n mynd i'w derbyn i'r unedau hynny? Pwy sy'n mynd i wneud y penderfyniad ynghylch a ydyn nhw am gael eu cyfeirio at yr unedau hynny? Ai meddyg teulu fydd hynny? Ai nyrs fydd hynny? Ai'r unigolyn fydd hynny? Pwy mewn gwirionedd sydd am benderfynu a ydyn nhw am gael eu derbyn i'r unedau penodol hynny a'r gwelyau penodol hynny? Rwyf hefyd eisiau gofyn cwestiynau efallai ynglŷn â llawdriniaethau dewisol sydd yn aml yn cael eu gohirio neu'u canslo. Y llynedd yn fy ardal bwrdd iechyd fy hun, gwnaethon nhw ganslo nifer o achosion o lawdriniaethau dewisol. Am ychydig o fisoedd, o ganlyniad, achoswyd oedi pellach a mwy o boen a gofid i gleifion wrth iddyn nhw aros am y llawdriniaeth nesaf. Pa fath o awgrym sydd wedi'i roi gan y byrddau iechyd hynny eu bod yn ystyried y materion hynny ac na fydd cleifion yn profi'r oedi maith hynny? Maen nhw'n aml yn gorfod disgwyl hyd at 36 wythnos, ac weithiau y tu hwnt i'r targed o 36 wythnos, ond nid wyf yn dymuno gweld y cleifion hyn yn gorfod aros yn hirach na hynny dim ond oherwydd nad ydynt wedi ystyried sut y byddant yn mynd i'r afael â llawdriniaeth ddewisol yn ystod cyfnod y gaeaf.