English: The Welsh Government can't abdicate responsibility from this. Yes, many of these pressures reach beyond Wales and afflict other parts of the United Kingdom, but nobody can say that the Welsh Government wasn't warned over many years about this ticking time bomb. Nobody can deny, also, that you have options to address this crisis. We can all see that the Government's handling of this so far has effectively led us to where we are today. Even prior to the strike action taking place by RCN members, the health Minister refused to meet with the Welsh partnership forum, despite the forum's long history of productive social partnership. The refusal to meet with the WPF was unnecessary brinkmanship, copied straight from the Tory playbook. But, subsequent meetings have been fruitless. The recent proposal of a one-off unspecified payment, rejected by the unions as unsatisfactory, speaks to a longer pattern of a lack of coherent strategy around the workforce by the current Minister and her predecessors as well, of course, because much of this isn't new. I feel as if the Government is becoming a broken record, blaming the UK Government. And of course the UK Government has a lot to answer for. Crikey, I get up often enough and say that in this Chamber. But, for me, every time the Labour Government here points the finger at the Westminster Government, it strengthens the argument that some of the powers they have there should therefore be devolved here so that we don't have to suffer and don't have to be beholden to the damaging decisions that they make. Now, one decision that lays fairly and squarely with the Welsh Government, of course, and it's something I raised last week, is the closure of community hospitals across Wales. We heard how 12 per cent of hospital beds are suffering from delayed discharges, and closing community hospitals, in my view, has made that situation worse. The Minister's retort was that community hospitals are more expensive; quite possibly. I've seen figures that tell a different story, but I've no reason to doubt the Minister's integrity in that respect. But, of course, we were told at the time, when that change was happening, that cost wasn't the driver. The driver was this need to move to a new, better model of care. We were promised enhanced home care, but that was never delivered as promised. We warned at the time of the implications. You will always need that step-down provision for people who are too well to be in hospital but maybe not well enough to be at home. There is that centre ground, that provision that is needed. When you lose that, why are we surprised that there is such a level of delayed discharge in the flow of the system, as it is now? And we graphically see how the closure of community hospitals is at least contributing to the crisis that we're currently in.
Welsh: Ni all Llywodraeth Cymru wrthod y cyfrifoldeb am hyn. Mae'n wir fod llawer o'r pwysau'n ymestyn y tu hwnt i Gymru ac yn effeithio ar rannau eraill o'r Deyrnas Unedig, ond ni all unrhyw un ddweud na chafodd Llywodraeth Cymru ei rhybuddio dros nifer o flynyddoedd am y bom amser hwn. Ni all unrhyw un wadu ychwaith fod gennych opsiynau i fynd i'r afael â'r argyfwng hwn. Gall pob un ohonom weld bod y ffordd y mae'r Llywodraeth wedi ymdrin â hyn hyd yma wedi ein harwain, i bob pwrpas, i'r sefyllfa rydym ynddi heddiw. Hyd yn oed cyn y streic gan aelodau'r Coleg Nyrsio Brenhinol, gwrthododd y Gweinidog iechyd gyfarfod â fforwm partneriaeth Cymru, er gwaethaf hanes hir y fforwm o bartneriaeth gymdeithasol gynhyrchiol. Roedd y penderfyniad i wrthod cyfarfod â fforwm partneriaeth Cymru yn enghraifft ddiangen o chwarae ar y dibyn, ac yn efelychu ymddygiad y Torïaid. Ond nid yw cyfarfodydd dilynol wedi dwyn ffrwyth. Mae'r cynnig diweddar o daliad amhenodol untro, a wrthodwyd gan yr undebau fel un anfoddhaol, yn rhan o batrwm hirach o ddiffyg strategaeth gydlynol ar gyfer y gweithlu gan y Gweinidog presennol a'i rhagflaenwyr hefyd wrth gwrs, gan fod llawer o hyn ymhell o fod yn newydd. Rwy'n teimlo bod y Llywodraeth fel tôn gron, yn beio Llywodraeth y DU. Ac wrth gwrs, mae gan Lywodraeth y DU lawer i ateb drosto. Nefoedd, rwy'n codi ac yn dweud hynny yn y Siambr hon yn ddigon aml. Ond i mi, bob tro y mae'r Llywodraeth Lafur hon yn pwyntio bys at Lywodraeth San Steffan, mae'n cryfhau'r ddadl y dylid datganoli rhai o'r pwerau sydd ganddynt yno i'r lle hwn fel nad oes yn rhaid inni ddioddef a bod yn gaeth i'r penderfyniadau niweidiol a wnânt. Nawr, un penderfyniad y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwbl gyfrifol amdano, wrth gwrs, ac mae'n rhywbeth a godais yr wythnos diwethaf, yw cau ysbytai cymuned ledled Cymru. Clywsom sut mae 12 y cant o welyau ysbyty yn dioddef o oedi wrth ryddhau cleifion, ac mae cau ysbytai cymuned, yn fy marn i, wedi gwaethygu'r sefyllfa honno. Ymateb y Gweinidog oedd bod ysbytai cymuned yn ddrytach; mae hynny'n ddigon posibl. Rwyf wedi gweld ffigurau sy'n adrodd stori wahanol, ond nid oes gennyf unrhyw reswm i amau cywirdeb y Gweinidog yn hynny o beth. Ond wrth gwrs, dywedwyd wrthym ar y pryd, pan oedd y newid hwnnw'n digwydd, nad y gost oedd y rheswm. Y rheswm oedd yr angen i newid i fodel gofal newydd, gwell. Cawsom addewid o ofal cartref gwell, ond ni chafodd hynny byth mo'i gyflawni fel yr addawyd. Fe wnaethom rybuddio ar y pryd am y goblygiadau. Byddwch bob amser angen darpariaeth cam-i-lawr ar gyfer pobl sy'n rhy iach i fod yn yr ysbyty ond heb fod yn ddigon da i fod gartref. Yn y tir canol hwnnw, y ddarpariaeth honno sydd ei hangen. Pan fyddwch yn colli hynny, pam ein bod yn synnu bod cymaint o oedi cyn rhyddhau yn y system, fel y mae pethau ar hyn o bryd? Ac rydym yn gweld yn glir sut mae cau ysbytai cymuned o leiaf yn cyfrannu at yr argyfwng rydym ynddo ar hyn o bryd.