English: It is a cause of great concern that Betsi Cadwaladr health board has no budget set aside for low-level or moderate perinatal mental health services, even though £3 million has been allocated for this every year across Wales. This is a significant gap, and it's truly concerning. I ask the Deputy Minister to investigate this and to rectify the situation at once. This funding gap means that women are deteriorating very quickly, developing into serious cases, with significant implications for them and their families, but also financial implications. This situation exists despite the commitment that improving perinatal mental health has been a priority of the Welsh Government since the previous Senedd term, following a report by the Children, Young People and Education Committee. A commitment was made that every health board would have an accessible community service, as well as a commitment to improve access to and the quality of perinatal mental health services. There are weaknesses in the community provision across Wales, which is having a detrimental impact on too many women and too many families. But, these failings are painfully clear in north Wales, so we must move at pace to rectify this. I'm also aware of a lack of spaces for community appointments and that many of these take place in unsuitable settings. This means that it's difficult for Betsi Cadwaladr health board to meet the required standards, not to mention being very discouraging for the staff and women involved. I now turn to services for the more serious cases. Five out of 100 pregnant women will develop a serious mental health condition. Between two and four out of every 1,000 women who have a child will require hospital care. A mother and baby unit is the appropriate place for this care to be received, but far too many women have to be treated on general psychiatric wards, and this means that they're separated from their babies. This can only exacerbate the problem, surely. We know that a unit has been opened in south Wales, and that is wonderful to see. It's time that we saw data on that unit. I would like to ask the Deputy Minister to publish any report produced as a result of a review of the unit since it opened in April 2021. The Government had committed to undertaking a review in April 2022, but, to date, I haven't been able to access any publicly available data. So, I look forward eagerly to seeing these reports and data, as well as the outcomes and the lessons to be learned, as we discuss a unit for north Wales. The Children, Young People and Education Committee's report noted that an MBU in the south would not necessarily be appropriate for mothers and their families in mid and north Wales. It was noted that options should be discussed with NHS England, with a view to establishing a centre in the north-east - the north-east of Wales, that is - that would be able to serve mothers and their children on both sides of the border. The argument that we hear is that there aren't enough cases in north and mid Wales to justify a dedicated unit for the area, but beds in such a unit could be filled through coming to an arrangement with health boards nearby that are part of NHS England. Unfortunately, the decision made was to continue with an eight-bed unit in England with access given to families from north Wales, rather than proceeding in the other way and in the way, indeed, that was recommended in the committee's report. I understand that the intention is to build a unit in Cheshire, which is expected to open in spring of next year, as I understand it. However, it is very difficult to find any further details on this development. The mention made is that this unit will include two beds for women from north Wales, and that Betsi Cadwaladr health board could commission additional beds as demand increases. In my view, this is the incorrect model for meeting the needs of women in my constituency and beyond. It's the wrong model, when there was an alternative option of a model that would have been able to meet the needs in the same way. Aside from the totally unrealistic distances that many mothers would have to travel, there is a further key and fundamental problem that arises in terms of meeting many families' Welsh language needs. I can only begin to imagine how horrendous it would be to have to be far from home at such a time of vulnerability. If Welsh is your first language and it is, therefore, the natural medium of communication with your newborn baby, imagine how alienating that would feel in Cheshire, where the workforce would be monolingual English. If the unit were located in north Wales and it provided beds for women from England, there would be no language barrier or issue because Welsh speakers speak English too. So, we must give urgent attention to the linguistic element in the new model, if this is the model that will be pursued, or I'm afraid that the Government's 'More than just words' strategy will be exposed as empty and meaningless. If it isn't too late, I would ask the Deputy Minister to review the ill-advised decision to establish a unit for women from north Wales in England. I have taken the opportunity in this short debate to outline the fundamental weaknesses in perinatal provision in north Wales, the deficiencies in community services, and the wholly inadequate and unsuitable model in the pipeline for serious cases. I do hope that the Government will take what I've said this evening seriously and will see that I'm trying to improve the situation. My hope is that, by putting this issue under the spotlight here in the Senedd, the Deputy Minister will ask her officials for an urgent report on the situation in north Wales, with firm recommendations for improving the situation for mothers, babies and families across north Wales. Thank you.
Welsh: Mae hi'n destun pryder mawr nad oes gan fwrdd iechyd Betsi unrhyw gyllideb ar gyfer gwasanaethau amenedigol ysgafn neu gymedrol, er bod £3 miliwn wedi ei neilltuo ar gyfer hyn yn flynyddol ar draws Cymru. Mae hyn yn fwlch sylweddol, ac yn frawychus yn wir, a dwi yn gofyn i'r Dirprwy Weinidog ymchwilio i hyn ac unioni'r sefyllfa ar unwaith. Mae'r bwlch yma yn golygu bod menywod yn dirywio yn sydyn gan ddatblygu yn achosion difrifol, sydd efo goblygiadau sylweddol iddyn nhw a'u teuluoedd, ond hefyd efo goblygiadau ariannol. Mae'r sefyllfa yma yn bodoli er gwaethaf yr ymrwymiad bod gwella gofal iechyd meddwl amenedigol yn flaenoriaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru ers y tymor seneddol diwethaf yn sgil adroddiad gan y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg. Fe wnaed ymrwymiad y byddai gan bob bwrdd iechyd wasanaeth cymunedol hygyrch ac ymrwymiad i wella mynediad ac ansawdd gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl amenedigol. Mae gwendidau yn y ddarpariaeth gymunedol ar draws Cymru, sy'n effeithio yn andwyol ar ormod o ferched a gormod o deuluoedd. Ond, mae'r gwendidau yn amlwg o boenus yn y gogledd, ac mae'n rhaid inni symud yn gyflym i unioni hyn. Dwi hefyd yn ymwybodol o ddiffyg gofod ar gyfer apwyntiadau cymunedol a bod llawer o'r rhain yn digwydd mewn lleoliadau anaddas. Mae hyn yn golygu ei bod hi'n anodd i fwrdd iechyd Betsi gyrraedd y safonau priodol heb sôn am fod yn ddiflas iawn i staff a'r merched dan sylw. Dwi'n troi rŵan at y gwasanaethau ar gyfer yr achosion sydd yn codi o broblemau mwy difrifol. Bydd pump o bob 100 o ferched beichiog yn datblygu problem iechyd meddwl difrifol. Bydd rhwng dwy a phedair o bob 1,000 o ferched sy'n cael plentyn angen gofal mewn ysbyty. Uned mamau a babanod ydy'r lle priodol ar gyfer derbyn y gofal hyn, ond mae yna ormod o lawer o famau yn gorfod cael eu trin ar wardiau seiciatryddol cyffredinol. Mae hyn yn golygu eu bod nhw'n cael eu gwahanu oddi wrth eu babanod, a fydd ond yn ychwanegu at y broblem, siŵr iawn. Rydyn ni'n gwybod bod uned wedi cael ei hagor yn y de, ac mae hynny yn wych o beth. Mae'n bryd cael data am yr uned honno ac hoffwn i ofyn i'r Dirprwy Weinidog gyhoeddi unrhyw adroddiad yn sgil adolygiad o'r uned ers iddi agor ym mis Ebrill 2021. Fe wnaeth y Llywodraeth ymrwymo i gynnal adolygiad yn Ebrill 2022, ond, hyd yma, dydw i ddim wedi gallu cael mynediad at ddata cyhoeddus. Felly, dwi'n edrych ymlaen yn eiddgar i weld yr adroddiadau a'r data a hefyd y deilliannau a'r gwersi i'w dysgu wrth i ni drafod uned ar gyfer y gogledd. Roedd adroddiad y pwyllgor plant a phobl Ifanc wedi nodi na fyddai MBU yn y de o angenrheidrwydd yn addas ar gyfer mamau a'u teuluoedd yn y canolbarth a'r gogledd. Nodwyd bod angen trafod opsiynau efo NHS England gyda'r nod o greu canolfan yn y gogledd-ddwyrain, gogledd-ddwyrain Cymru, fyddai'n gallu gwasanaethu mamau a'u plant ar ddwy ochr y ffin. Y ddadl rydyn ni'n ei chlywed ydy nad oes yna ddim digon o achosion yn y gogledd a'r canolbarth i gyfiawnhau uned ar wahân ar gyfer yr ardal ond y gellid llenwi gwelyau mewn uned drwy drefniant â byrddau iechyd cyfagos sydd yn rhan o NHS England. Yn anffodus, y penderfyniad oedd bwrw ymlaen gydag uned wyth gwely yn Lloegr gyda mynediad i deuluoedd o'r gogledd yn lle mynd o'i chwmpas hi'r ffordd arall ac yn y ffordd a argymhellwyd yn adroddiad y pwyllgor, sef uned yng Nghymru fyddai yn hygyrch ar gyfer pobl yn cael eu gwasanaeth drwy NHS Lloegr. Dwi'n deall, erbyn hyn, mai'r bwriad ydy adeiladu uned yn Swydd Gaer a'i bod, yn ôl yr hyn dwi'n ei ddeall, i fod i agor erbyn y gwanwyn flwyddyn nesaf. Ond, rhaid i mi ddweud, mae'n anodd iawn dod o hyd i unrhyw fanylion pellach na hynny. Y sôn ydy y bydd yr uned yma yn cynnwys dau wely ar gyfer merched o'r gogledd, ac y gallai bwrdd iechyd Betsi brynu llefydd ychwanegol wrth i alw gynyddu. Yn fy marn i, dyma'r model anghywir ar gyfer diwallu anghenion merched yn fy etholaeth i a thu hwnt yn y gogledd. Y model anghywir, pan oedd yna ddewis amgen o fodel fyddai wedi gallu diwallu yr anghenion yn yr un ffordd yn union. Oni bai am bellteroedd teithio hollol afrealistig i lawer o famau, mae problem sylfaenol ac allweddol yn codi o ran diwallu anghenion iaith Gymraeg llawer o deuluoedd. Fedraf i ond dychmygu pa mor erchyll fyddai gorfod bod ymhell o gartref mewn cyfnod mor fregus. Os mai'r Gymraeg ydy'ch mamiaith chi a'r cyfrwng cwbl naturiol ar gyfer cyfathrebu efo'ch baban newydd, meddyliwch pa mor estron fyddai hynny yn Swydd Gaer, pan fydd y gweithlu yn uniaith Saesneg. Petai'r uned wedi ei lleoli yn y gogledd ac yn darparu gwelyau ar gyfer merched o Loegr, fyddai yna ddim problem iaith, wrth gwrs, achos mae siaradwyr Cymraeg yn siarad Saesneg hefyd. Felly, mae angen rhoi sylw brys i'r elfen ieithyddol yn y model newydd, os mai hwn fydd yn symud yn ei flaen, neu mae arnaf i ofn bod strategaeth 'Mwy na geiriau' y Llywodraeth yn un wag a diystyr. Os nad ydy hi'n rhy hwyr, mi fuaswn i yn gofyn i'r Dirprwy Weinidog adolygu'r penderfyniad ffôl i greu uned ar gyfer merched y gogledd yn Lloegr. Dwi wedi cymryd y cyfle yn y ddadl yma i nodi'r gwendidau sylfaenol yn y ddarpariaeth amenedigol yn y gogledd, y diffygion yn y gwasanaethau cymunedol, a'r model cwbl annigonol ac amhriodol sydd ar y gweill o ran gwasanaethau ar gyfer achosion difrifol. Dwi yn gobeithio y bydd y Llywodraeth yn cymryd yr hyn dwi'n ei ddweud heddiw o ddifrif ac yn gweld fy mod i'n ceisio gwella'r sefyllfa. Fy ngobaith i ydy, drwy ddod â'r ddadl yma ymlaen a rhoi hyn i gyd o dan y chwyddwydr yma yn y Senedd, y bydd y Dirprwy Weinidog yn gofyn i'w swyddogion hi am adroddiad brys ar y sefyllfa yn y gogledd, efo argymhellion pendant er mwyn gwella'r sefyllfa ar gyfer mamau, babanod a theuluoedd ar draws y gogledd. Diolch.