English: As chair of the cross-party group on funerals and bereavement, I welcome this debate. We understand that between 300 and 350 people die by suicide each year in Wales, according to Samaritans Cymru, with the male suicide rate almost three times higher than that for females. Samaritans Cymru reports the figure that Lynne Neagle referred to, that at least six people are deeply affected by each suicide. Lynne indicated, actually, that the multiplier is far, far higher than that, and that a person bereaved by suicide is far more likely to attempt suicide themselves. And they add that many people who are bereaved in this way find it hard to get the help they need and that we must provide better information and support to those bereaved or affected by suicide, and that support for this group must be recognised as a key element of suicide prevention. Reference was made to Rhian Mannings, the founder of the all-Wales charity 2 Wish Upon a Star, and the charity and Rhian take part in the cross-party group. This charity, as we heard, provides essential bereavement support for families who have suddenly and traumatically lost a child or young adult aged under 25, which may be from suicide or may be through accident or illness. She told me that sudden death is the forgotten death in Wales. And although the charity has effectively become a statutory service in Wales, working, as we heard, with every health board and every police force, they're receiving no statutory support whatsoever, having to raise every penny themselves, despite reducing pressure on mental health teams, helping tackle the unforeseeable trauma of unpredictable death and loss. Rhian Mannings states that she started her fight after her husband and son were taken from her suddenly - no preparation, no warning and then nothing, she said - and that the lack of support they received directly led to her husband taking his own life. Cruse Bereavement Care launched their manifesto for bereaved people two months ago. They believe that access to the right support, tailored to the need of each bereaved person, can help them deal with the challenge of grief and build a meaningful life, whilst remembering and celebrating the lives of those they have lost. This, they say, can in turn help improve mental health and reduce the impact on NHS services. Amongst other things, Cruse is calling for a named Minister with responsibility for bereavement and a cross-departmental strategy, and for local funding for high-quality bereavement support, where they say too many people still lack support after bereavement, where in too many areas, there is no statutory funding for the agencies and charities helping bereaved people. And they call for more compassionate communities where everyone knows enough about grief to play their part in supporting people around a death. Marie Curie states that ensuring adequate support for families experiencing bereavement is an important part of the process of death and dying. And 2 Wish Upon a Star notes the correlation between those organisations, funded by Welsh Government, local authority or health boards, which predominantly signpost or refer into organisations and those who provide bereavement services, but receive little or no funding. And they state that services need to be widely known and a multi-agency approach undertaken to ensure support can be delivered Wales-wide and that severe long-term consequences can be reduced. The cross-party group on hospices and palliative care, which I also chair, proposes four recommendations to improve the care and support of bereaved people in Wales, and thus ensure better outcomes for people following the loss of a loved one. Firstly, to improve data on the need for bereavement support where, due to the lack of robust needs assessment, it is currently very difficult for services to plan for meeting need or to understand what resources they may need to do so. Secondly, to make bereavement a key feature of all relevant policy to be considered and embedded in Welsh Government strategy and policy, including adult mental health and well-being and children's mental health and well-being. Thirdly, to embed bereavement support in schools. And, fourthly, to make the provision of bereavement care sustainable where the lack of strategic and policy prioritisation for bereavement support is evidenced in the very low levels of statutory funding for care for the bereaved. Lynne Neagle made reference to the publication last month of 'A Scoping Survey of Bereavement Services in Wales: End of Study Report' commissioned by the Welsh Government. This identified that more bereavement services were available in the south-east of Wales, with the least number being available in the north and west of Wales. It said 'Respondents described a number of gaps and challenges in bereavement service provisionMany appeared to relate to the lack of a clear framework for the commissioning and delivery of bereavement services and included non-prioritisation of bereavement care within organisations, lack of access to funding and restricted access to training and appropriate facilities.' A key -
Welsh: Fel cadeirydd y grŵp trawsbleidiol ar angladdau a phrofedigaeth, rwy'n croesawu'r ddadl hon. Deallwn fod rhwng 300 a 350 o bobl yn marw drwy hunanladdiad bob blwyddyn yng Nghymru, yn ôl Samariaid Cymru, gyda'r gyfradd hunanladdiad ymysg dynion bron dair gwaith yn uwch na'r gyfradd ar gyfer menywod. Mae Samariaid Cymru yn nodi'r ffigur y cyfeiriodd Lynne Neagle ato, fod pob achos o hunanladdiad yn effeithio'n ddifrifol ar o leiaf chwech o bobl. Nododd Lynne, mewn gwirionedd, fod y lluosydd yn llawer iawn uwch na hynny, a bod unigolyn sydd mewn profedigaeth ar ôl hunanladdiad yn llawer mwy tebygol o geisio cyflawni hunanladdiad eu hunain. Ac maent yn ychwanegu bod llawer o bobl sydd mewn profedigaeth o'r fath yn ei chael hi'n anodd cael y cymorth sydd ei angen arnynt a bod yn rhaid inni ddarparu gwell gwybodaeth a chefnogaeth i'r rheini sydd mewn profedigaeth neu yr effeithiwyd arnynt gan hunanladdiad, a bod yn rhaid cydnabod bod cymorth i'r grŵp hwn yn elfen allweddol yn y gwaith o atal hunanladdiad. Cyfeiriwyd at Rhian Mannings, sylfaenydd yr elusen Cymru gyfan 2 Wish Upon a Star, ac mae'r elusen a Rhian yn rhan o'r grŵp trawsbleidiol. Mae'r elusen hon, fel y clywsom, yn darparu cymorth profedigaeth hanfodol i deuluoedd sydd wedi colli plentyn neu oedolyn ifanc o dan 25 oed yn sydyn ac yn drawmatig o ganlyniad i hunanladdiad neu drwy ddamwain neu salwch. Dywedodd wrthyf mai marwolaeth sydyn yw'r farwolaeth sy'n cael ei hanghofio yng Nghymru. Ac er bod yr elusen wedi dod yn wasanaeth statudol i bob pwrpas yng Nghymru, gan weithio, fel y clywsom, gyda phob bwrdd iechyd a phob heddlu, nid ydynt yn cael unrhyw gymorth statudol o gwbl, ac mae'n rhaid iddynt godi pob ceiniog eu hunain, er eu bod yn lleihau'r pwysau ar dimau iechyd meddwl, gan helpu i fynd i'r afael â thrawma annisgwyl marwolaeth a cholled na ellid bod wedi'u rhagweld. Dywed Rhian Mannings iddi ddechrau ei brwydr ar ôl iddi golli ei gŵr a'i mab yn sydyn - dim paratoi, dim rhybudd ac yna dim byd, meddai - a bod y diffyg cymorth a gawsant wedi arwain yn uniongyrchol at hunanladdiad ei gŵr. Lansiodd Gofal mewn Galar Cruse eu maniffesto ar gyfer pobl mewn profedigaeth ddeufis yn ôl. Credant y gall mynediad at y gefnogaeth gywir, wedi'i theilwra i anghenion pob unigolyn mewn profedigaeth, eu helpu i oresgyn heriau galar ac adeiladu bywyd ystyrlon, gan gofio a dathlu bywydau'r rheini y maent wedi'u colli. Dywedant y gall hyn, yn ei dro, helpu i wella iechyd meddwl a lleihau'r effaith ar wasanaethau'r GIG. Ymhlith pethau eraill, mae Cruse yn galw am Weinidog penodol gyda chyfrifoldeb am brofedigaeth a strategaeth drawsadrannol, ac am gyllid lleol ar gyfer cymorth profedigaeth o ansawdd uchel, lle dywedant fod gormod o bobl yn dal i fethu cael cymorth ar ôl profedigaeth, lle nad oes cyllid statudol mewn gormod o ardaloedd ar gyfer yr asiantaethau a'r elusennau sy'n helpu pobl sydd mewn profedigaeth. Ac maent yn galw am gymunedau mwy tosturiol lle mae pawb yn gwybod digon am alar i chwarae eu rhan yn cefnogi pobl pan fo rhywun yn marw. Dywed Marie Curie fod sicrhau cefnogaeth ddigonol i deuluoedd sydd wedi cael profedigaeth yn rhan bwysig o broses marwolaeth a marw. Ac mae 2 Wish Upon a Star yn nodi'r gydberthynas rhwng y sefydliadau hynny a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru, awdurdodau lleol neu fyrddau iechyd sy'n cyfeirio neu'n atgyfeirio'n bennaf at sefydliadau a'r rheini sy'n darparu gwasanaethau profedigaeth ond nad ydynt yn cael fawr o gyllid, os o gwbl. A dywedant fod angen i wasanaethau fod yn dra hysbys, ac y dylid defnyddio dull amlasiantaethol i sicrhau y gellir darparu cymorth ledled Cymru ac y gellir lleihau canlyniadau hirdymor difrifol. Mae'r grŵp trawsbleidiol ar ofal lliniarol a hosbisau, a gadeirir gennyf hefyd, yn cynnig pedwar argymhelliad i wella gofal a chefnogaeth i bobl sydd mewn profedigaeth yng Nghymru, er mwyn sicrhau gwell canlyniadau i bobl ar ôl iddynt golli rhywun annwyl. Yn gyntaf, gwella data ar yr angen am gefnogaeth mewn profedigaeth lle mae'n anodd iawn ar hyn o bryd, oherwydd diffyg asesiad cadarn o anghenion, i wasanaethau gynllunio i ddiwallu anghenion neu ddeall pa adnoddau y gallai fod eu hangen arnynt i wneud hynny. Yn ail, sicrhau bod profedigaeth yn nodwedd allweddol o'r holl bolisi perthnasol sydd i'w ystyried a'i ymgorffori yn strategaethau a pholisïau Llywodraeth Cymru, gan gynnwys lles ac iechyd meddwl oedolion a lles ac iechyd meddwl plant. Yn drydydd, ymgorffori cymorth profedigaeth mewn ysgolion. Ac yn bedwerydd, sicrhau bod darpariaeth gofal profedigaeth yn gynaliadwy lle ceir tystiolaeth o ddiffyg blaenoriaethu strategol a pholisi ar gyfer cymorth profedigaeth yn y lefelau isel iawn o gyllid statudol ar gyfer gofal i bobl mewn profedigaeth. Cyfeiriodd Lynne Neagle at gyhoeddi 'Arolwg cwmpasu o wasanaethau profedigaeth yng Nghymru: Adroddiad Diwedd Astudiaeth' y mis diwethaf a gomisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Nodai fod mwy o wasanaethau profedigaeth ar gael yn ne-ddwyrain Cymru, gyda'r nifer leiaf yng ngogledd a gorllewin Cymru. Roedd yn nodi hyn: Disgrifiodd yr ymatebwyr nifer o fylchau a heriau yn y ddarpariaeth o wasanaeth profedigaeth Ymddengys bod llawer yn ymwneud â diffyg fframwaith clir ar gyfer comisiynu a darparu gwasanaethau profedigaeth gan gynnwys diffyg blaenoriaeth i ofal profedigaeth mewn sefydliadau, diffyg mynediad at gyllid a mynediad cyfyngedig i hyfforddiant a chyfleusterau priodol. Un ystyriaeth allweddol -