English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. In moving this motion today, I wish to start by expressing how grateful we are to the staff of the NHS. From front-line medics to back-room managers, they've held the line and delivered care and support to many individuals and families during this dreadful time. Without doubt, the NHS has been put under immense pressure by COVID, but the truth is that the NHS was under immense pressure before the pandemic. There needs to be not only a route out of the current situation, but to look and to ensure that the Welsh NHS is both well resourced and truly enabled, because the NHS needs more trained professionals and the freedom to innovate, it needs investment in primary care, strengthened secondary care, better IT and a plan for social care and mental health, and we need to be able to slash those horrendous waiting times. I don't underestimate the uphill battle this will be. Let us remember that the Welsh NHS was in a weak and vulnerable position before COVID-19, as a result of poor decision making over the last 20 years by a succession of moribund Labour and Labour-Liberal and Labour-Plaid Governments. One such area that was badly affected is recruitment. The workforce is the backbone of the NHS, but Welsh Government has relied on goodwill, overtime and agencies to plug staff shortages, rather than implement a proper workforce strategy. According to the Royal College of Nursing, there is an estimated absolute minimum of 1,612 nursing vacancies, let alone doctors, physios, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and mental health specialists. In 2019, Welsh Government commissioned a health and social care workforce strategy, two years later, where is it? Nowhere. In order to fund an increase in workforce, the NHS must be properly funded. Yet, the Welsh Labour Government holds the dubious honour of being the only Government in the UK to ever cut the NHS budget in modern times by some £800 million. They've also underfunded the social care system and allowed an unforgivable fragility to develop in the sector. Welsh Government expects older people to pay twice for care by looking to introduce an age-related social care tax, both unfair and ageist. And let's turn to waiting times, terrible before the pandemic, horrendous now. Before the pandemic, waiting times had trebled for those waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment. Before the pandemic, the Welsh Government failed to meet its own target times for treatment. Before the pandemic, the 95 per cent target for patients spending fewer than four hours in A&E had never been met. Before the pandemic, cancer waiting times had not been met for a decade. Before the pandemic, the target of patients waiting fewer than 26 weeks for treatment hadn't been met for 10 years. Before the pandemic, the target for patients waiting fewer than - . Sorry, you've disappeared, Dirprwy Lywydd. I don't know if you've lost me. My apologies, the Deputy Presiding Officer disappeared, so I thought perhaps I had disappeared. You may wish I had, but unfortunately, Minister, I'm still here.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Wrth wneud y cynnig hwn heddiw, hoffwn ddechrau drwy fynegi ein diolch i staff y GIG. O feddygon rheng flaen i reolwyr ystafell gefn, maent wedi dal ati ac wedi darparu gofal a chymorth i lawer o unigolion a theuluoedd yn ystod y cyfnod ofnadwy hwn. Yn ddi-os, mae'r GIG wedi bod o dan bwysau aruthrol yn sgil COVID, ond y gwir amdani yw bod y GIG o dan bwysau aruthrol cyn y pandemig. Mae angen llwybr allan o'r sefyllfa bresennol, yn ogystal ag edrych a sicrhau bod gan GIG Cymru adnoddau da a'i fod wedi'i alluogi o ddifrif, oherwydd mae'r GIG angen mwy o weithwyr proffesiynol hyfforddedig a rhyddid i arloesi, mae angen buddsoddiad mewn gofal sylfaenol, gofal eilaidd cryfach, gwell TG a chynllun ar gyfer gofal cymdeithasol ac iechyd meddwl, ac mae angen inni allu lleihau'r amseroedd aros erchyll. Nid wyf yn diystyru maint y frwydr. Gadewch inni gofio bod GIG Cymru mewn sefyllfa wan a bregus cyn COVID-19, o ganlyniad i benderfyniadau gwael dros yr 20 mlynedd diwethaf gan gyfres o Lywodraethau Llafur a Llafur-Rhyddfrydwyr a Llafur-Plaid Cymru marwaidd. Un maes o'r fath yr effeithiwyd arno'n wael yw recriwtio. Y gweithlu yw asgwrn cefn y GIG, ond mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dibynnu ar ewyllys da, goramser ac asiantaethau i wneud iawn am brinder staff, yn hytrach na gweithredu strategaeth briodol ar gyfer y gweithlu. Yn ôl y Coleg Nyrsio Brenhinol, amcangyfrifir bod o leiaf 1,612 o swyddi nyrsio'n wag, heb sôn am feddygon, ffisiotherapyddion, therapyddion lleferydd ac iaith, therapyddion galwedigaethol ac arbenigwyr iechyd meddwl. Yn 2019, comisiynodd Llywodraeth Cymru strategaeth ar gyfer y gweithlu iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol, a ddwy flynedd yn ddiweddarach, ble mae'r strategaeth honno? Nid yw'n unman. Er mwyn ariannu cynnydd yn y gweithlu, rhaid i'r GIG gael ei gyllido'n briodol. Ac eto, Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru sydd â'r anrhydedd amheus o fod yr unig Lywodraeth yn y DU i dorri cyllideb y GIG yn yr oes fodern a hynny o oddeutu £800 miliwn. Maent hefyd wedi tanariannu'r system gofal cymdeithasol ac wedi caniatáu i freuder anfaddeuol ddatblygu yn y sector. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn disgwyl i bobl hŷn dalu ddwy waith am ofal drwy geisio cyflwyno treth gofal cymdeithasol sy'n gysylltiedig ag oedran, a hynny'n annheg ac yn oedraniaethol. A gadewch inni droi at amseroedd aros, a oedd yn ofnadwy cyn y pandemig, ac sy'n ddychrynllyd yn awr. Cyn y pandemig, roedd amseroedd aros wedi treblu i'r rhai a oedd yn aros mwy na 36 wythnos am driniaeth. Cyn y pandemig, methodd Llywodraeth Cymru gyrraedd ei hamseroedd targed ei hun ar gyfer triniaeth. Cyn y pandemig, nid oedd y targed o 95 y cant ar gyfer cleifion sy'n treulio llai na phedair awr mewn adrannau damweiniau ac achosion brys erioed wedi'i gyrraedd. Cyn y pandemig, nid oedd amseroedd aros canser wedi'u cyrraedd ers degawd. Cyn y pandemig, nid oedd y targed i sicrhau bod cleifion yn aros llai na 26 wythnos am driniaeth wedi'i gyrraedd ers 10 mlynedd. Cyn y pandemig, roedd y targed i gleifion aros llai na - . Mae'n ddrwg gennyf, rydych wedi diflannu, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Nid wyf yn gwybod a ydych chi wedi fy ngholli i. Ymddiheuriadau, diflannodd y Dirprwy Lywydd, felly roeddwn yn credu efallai fy mod i wedi diflannu. Efallai y byddai'n dda gennych pe bawn i wedi diflannu, ond yn anffodus, Weinidog, rwy'n dal yma.