English: I welcome the opportunity to welcome this statement and also to wish a happy birthday to our national health service at 70 years of age. May I start by paying tribute to Aneurin Bevan and Dr Julian Tudor Hart, who passed away in the past few days, and whom I met on a number of occasions as a fellow GP in the South Wales Valleys? But, essentially, we are celebrating the survival of a vision of free treatment based on need alone and a health service funded from general taxation - everyone, therefore, sharing and paying for the risk. It is something quite unique across most of the world, namely that all of these people share the risk as well as contributing towards payment. And the health service, therefore, is dealing with real health inequalities, because having to pay for treatment is always going to make things worse in terms of health inequalities, because some people won't be able to afford treatment. Now, I've been a doctor for 38 years. Now, that's over half the existence of the NHS, and I'm still very proud to still be a practising doctor working for the NHS. That is a source of great pride to me, I have to admit, because some people who come to see me as patients were children when I started working as a GP, and now they are grandmothers and grandfathers themselves, and it is an honour to be an unbroken line within the lives of very many people in Wales. We can't overemphasise the relief of taking money out of the equation - taking money out of the consultation, if you like. Of course, prescription charges were introduced in 1951, and Aneurin Bevan left the Cabinet as a result of that. And, of course, the Government here scrapped prescription charges some 11 years ago. With the abolition of prescription charges, we truly can focus on the best treatments, because having to pay for prescriptions in England means that you pay over £8 for every item on your prescription. Therefore, we don't have to under-treat our patients here in Wales because we as doctors may be concerned about the cost to the patient. We don't have to change treatments and we don't have to fail to prescribe something because of the cost here in Wales, and that is very much in contrast to the situation over the border in England. We would be staggered, therefore, if we were to have to save money, or sell our home, or pay a huge price for health services - can you imagine such a situation? In many nations today, you have to save money for an operation, for example; well, that isn't the case with the NHS. But, surprisingly, today in Wales, and in the UK, that is the situation with social care. People are expected to save up. They are expected, on occasion, to sell their homes. They are expected to pay a huge amount for support and social care today. I would say, as we celebrate a free NHS, based entirely on patient need, funded from general taxation, that we need the same solution for social care, and that that should be provided free of charge, on the basis of a national social care service. Would you agree?
Welsh: Rwy'n croesawu'r cyfle i allu croesawu'r datganiad yma a hefyd gallu datgan pen-blwydd hapus i'r gwasanaeth iechyd yn 70 mlwydd oed. A hefyd a gaf i ddechrau drwy dalu teyrnged i Aneurin Bevan a hefyd i Dr Julian Tudor Hart, a fu farw yn y dyddiau diwethaf yma, ac y bum i'w gyfarfod ef sawl tro fel cyd-feddyg teulu yng Nghymoedd y De yma? Ond, yn y bôn, felly, rydym ni yn dathlu goroesiad gweledigaeth o driniaeth rhad ac am ddim yn seiliedig ar angen yn unig a gwasanaeth iechyd wedi'u ariannu o drethiant cyffredinol - pawb, felly, yn rhannu ac yn talu am y risg. A rhywbeth unigryw dros rhan fwyaf o'r byd, a dweud y gwir, ydy'r syniad yna bod pawb yn rhannu yn y risg yn ogystal ag yn cyfrannu i'r taliad. A'r gwasanaeth iechyd, felly, yn mynd i'r afael efo anghyfartaleddau iechyd go iawn felly, achos mae gorfod talu am driniaeth wastad yn mynd i waethygu pethau yn nhermau anghyfartaledd iechyd, gan na fydd rhai pobl yn gallu talu am y driniaeth. Nawr, rwyf i wedi bod yn feddyg ers 38 o flynyddoedd nawr, sef dros hanner bodolaeth y gwasanaeth iechyd, ac yn falch iawn o dal i fod yn feddyg yn gweithio i'r gwasanaeth iechyd y dyddiau hyn. Balchder hynod, mae'n rhaid cyfaddef, achos mae rhai pobl sy'n dod i fy ngweld i rŵan fel cleifion, roedden nhw'n blant pan wnes i ddechrau gweithio fel meddyg, a nawr maen nhw'n neiniau ac yn deidiau eu hunain, ac mae'n anrhydedd bod yn llinyn di-dor mewn bywydau nifer fawr o bobl yng Nghymru heddiw. Nid ydym ni'n gallu gorbwysleisio'r rhyddhad o fynd ag arian allan o'r drafodaeth - o fynd ag arian allan o'r consultation. Wrth gwrs, mi ddaeth taliadau am bresgripsiwn i mewn yn 1951, ac mi wnaeth Aneurin Bevan adael y Cabinet yn sgil hynny. Ac, wrth gwrs, y Llywodraeth yn fan hyn ddaeth â'r polisi yna yn ôl i rym rhyw 11 mlynedd yn ôl. Gyda dileu talu am bresgripsiwn, rydym ni'n wirioneddol yn gallu canolbwyntio ar y triniaethau gorau, achos mae talu am bresgripsiwn yn Lloegr yn golygu eich bod chi'n talu dros £8 am bob eitem sydd ar eich presgripsiwn chi. Felly, nid oes yn rhaid i ni orfod tan-drin ein cleifion yma yng Nghymru achos ein bod ni fel meddygon yn pryderu am y gost i'r claf. Nid oes yn rhaid i ni newid y driniaeth neu beidio â phresgreibio rhywbeth o achos y gost, yma yng Nghymru, i'w gyferbynnu â'r sefyllfa dros y ffin yn Lloegr. Byddem ni'n syfrdanu, felly, o orfod cynilo ein harian, neu werthu ein tŷ, neu dalu crocbris am gymorth iechyd - a allwch chi feddwl am y sefyllfa? Mewn sawl gwlad heddiw mae'n rhaid i chi gasglu arian cyn i chi gael llawdriniaeth; nid fel yna efo'r gwasanaeth iechyd. Ond, yn rhyfeddol, heddiw yng Nghymru ac yn y Deyrnas Unedig, dyna yw ein sefyllfa ni efo gofal cymdeithasol. Mae disgwyl i bobl arbed eu harian, i gynilo. Mae disgwyl iddyn nhw, weithiau, werthu eu tŷ. Mae disgwyl iddyn nhw, weithiau, dalu crocbris am gymorth gofal cymdeithasol heddiw. Buaswn i'n dweud, wrth inni ddathlu gwasanaeth iechyd am ddim yn seiliedig ar angen yn unig, wedi'i ariannu o drethiant cyffredinol, fod angen yr un un ateb i ofal cymdeithasol, a chael hwnnw am ddim, ar sail gwasanaeth gofal cymdeithasol cenedlaethol. A fyddech chi'n cytuno?