English: It has already been pointed out that an estimated 7,000 people a year in Wales experience a stroke, and that can be the equivalent of a whole town having one every year. It takes on average, as has been said, 6 hours 35 minutes between stroke onset and arrival at hospital in Wales. Compare that with 3 hours 41 minutes in England, and 2 hours 41 minutes in Northern Ireland. There's been mention of this need for that golden hour. Some years ago, a relative of mine experienced a stroke, and in those days it was almost expected that it was going to be classed as urgent. The sentinel stroke national audit programme data, which scores Welsh NHS responses to key indicators such as time to scan, time to treatment, time to admission to stroke units, highlights some concerning trends in north Wales hospitals. With the worst possible score of E, Wrexham and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd have seen no improvement in their SSNAP scores of D since 2021. In fact, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd took longer than an hour on average to scan stroke patients. When considering that stroke is the fourth leading cause of death, it comes as no surprise that I have constituents who really have a heightened level of anxiety about whether an ambulance would turn up on time and, if it did, how, then, would they proceed to have a scan. Of the four-hour target for patients to be admitted to a stroke unit, just one hospital in Wales was within that timeframe, and according to the Stroke Association, the time it takes for patients to arrive at a hospital does impact on the time it takes patients to receive a scan. Patients in Wales are being scanned just over eight hours after their symptom onset. So, we've got to get patients into hospital faster and we need speedier scans. Since 2015, this Welsh Labour Government has downgraded suspected stroke ambulance response times to amber, with no target time for arrival. England's ambulance services, which have a specific category for suspected stroke patients, had a mean response time of 47 minutes and 59 seconds. Here in Wales, amber calls are taking on average, one hour and 35 minutes to arrive with patients - that says 'on average'; I can tell you that I know of examples really recently, where, unfortunately, a constituent of mine passed away because, well, it was just too late. Any longer than 60 minutes, and harm, including brain damage, physical disability and mortality can increase significantly. By 2020, and pre pandemic, even the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust stated that amber performance remains a concern. So, it's therefore reasonable to vote to instruct the Health and Social Care Committee to conduct a review into the benefits and challenges of recategorising strokes as red - immediately life-threatening calls under the clinical response model. And I speak as an elected Member where we have a greater number of old people, obviously, I'm speaking on behalf of my constituents in Aberconwy. That will provide a fair opportunity to hear from health boards and professionals, enabling this Welsh Parliament and your Government to make the best decision that is truly also the best for patients. So, I've also got a question and an explanation, Minister, as to why there is no thrombectomy specialist in north Wales. There are only two employed, and they are both in Cardiff. Betsi Cadwaladr sends patients to Walton Hospital. As outlined by the Stroke Association's Saving Brains campaign, whilst thrombectomy could significantly reduce the chance of disabilities, like paralysis or blindness, it could save the NHS £47,000 over five years, per patient. Less than 1 per cent of stroke patients in Wales received a thrombectomy in 2021. So, it's not good enough. Surely, between us, we can agree to work with health boards to achieve better than that and establish a workforce plan so that north Wales has its own specialist too. Yet again, we have fewer services than the south, and we're having to depend on England, but I will say that Walton is exceptionally good. Nonetheless, we've had devolution for nearly 25 years. Minister, as you can imagine, this is a debate that's very close to my colleagues on the Welsh Conservative benches, but it's also close to the hearts and minds of my constituents in Aberconwy, and many across Wales. I know that you listen to what we say here; please, on this one, really study the motion and do what you can to help our stoke victims. Thank you.
Welsh: Nodwyd eisoes bod tua 7,000 o bobl yn cael strôc yng Nghymru bob blwyddyn, ac mae hynny'n gyfystyr â thref gyfan yn cael strôc bob blwyddyn. Ar gyfartaledd, mae'n cymryd 6 awr 35 munud rhwng dechrau strôc a chyrraedd ysbyty yng Nghymru. Cymharwch hynny â 3 awr 41 munud yn Lloegr, a 2 awr 41 munud yng Ngogledd Iwerddon. Mae sôn wedi bod am yr angen am yr awr euraidd. Rai blynyddoedd yn ôl, cafodd perthynas i mi strôc, ac yn y dyddiau hynny roedd hi bron yn ddisgwyliedig y byddai'n cael ei ystyried yn fater brys. Mae data'r rhaglen archwilio genedlaethol ar gyfer strôc sentinel, sy'n sgorio ymatebion GIG Cymru i ddangosyddion allweddol megis amser i sgan, amser i driniaeth, amser i dderbyn i unedau strôc, yn tynnu sylw at dueddiadau pryderus yn ysbytai gogledd Cymru. O gofio mai'r sgôr waethaf bosibl yw E, nid yw Wrecsam nac Ysbyty Glan Clwyd wedi gweld unrhyw welliant yn eu sgoriau SSNAP, sef D, ers 2021. Yn wir, cymerodd Ysbyty Glan Clwyd fwy nag awr ar gyfartaledd i sganio cleifion strôc. Wrth ystyried mai strôc yw'r pedwerydd prif achos marwolaeth, nid yw'n syndod fod gennyf etholwyr sy'n bryderus iawn ynglŷn ag a fyddai ambiwlans yn cyrraedd mewn pryd, a hyd yn oed pe bai'n gwneud hynny, faint y byddai'n ei gymryd i gael sgan wedyn. Un ysbyty'n unig yng Nghymru a lwyddodd i sicrhau bod cleifion yn cael mynediad at uned strôc o fewn y targed o bedair awr, ac yn ôl y Gymdeithas Strôc, mae'r amser y mae'n ei gymryd i gleifion gyrraedd ysbyty yn effeithio ar yr amser y mae'n ei gymryd i gleifion gael sgan. Mae cleifion yng Nghymru'n cael eu sganio ychydig dros wyth awr ar ôl i'w symptomau gychwyn. Felly, mae'n rhaid inni gael cleifion i'r ysbyty yn gynt ac mae angen sganiau cyflymach arnom. Ers 2015, mae'r Llywodraeth Lafur Gymreig hon wedi israddio amseroedd ymateb ambiwlansys ar gyfer cleifion lle'r amheuir strôc i oren, heb unrhyw amser targed ar gyfer cyrraedd. Mae gan wasanaethau ambiwlans Lloegr, sydd â chategori penodol ar gyfer cleifion lle'r amheuir strôc, amser ymateb cymedrig o 47 munud a 59 eiliad. Yma yng Nghymru, mae galwadau oren yn cymryd awr a 35 munud ar gyfartaledd i gyrraedd gyda chleifion - 'ar gyfartaledd' mae'n dweud; gallaf ddweud wrthych fy mod yn gwybod am enghreifftiau yn ddiweddar iawn, lle bu farw etholwr i mi oherwydd, wel, roedd yn rhy hwyr. Os yw'n hwy na 60 munud, mae'r risg o niwed, gan gynnwys niwed i'r ymennydd, anabledd corfforol a marwolaethau yn gallu cynyddu'n sylweddol. Erbyn 2020, a'r cyfnod cyn y pandemig, dywedodd hyd yn oed Ymddiriedolaeth GIG Gwasanaethau Ambiwlans Cymru fod perfformiad oren yn dal i beri pryder. O ganlyniad, mae'n rhesymol inni bleidleisio i gyfarwyddo'r Pwyllgor Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol i gynnal adolygiad o fanteision a heriau ail-gategoreiddio galwadau strôc fel rhai coch - galwadau lle mae bywyd yn y fantol o dan y model ymateb clinigol. Ac rwy'n siarad fel Aelod etholedig lle mae gennym niferoedd uwch o hen bobl, yn amlwg, rwy'n siarad ar ran fy etholwyr yn Aberconwy. Bydd hynny'n rhoi cyfle teg i glywed gan fyrddau iechyd a gweithwyr proffesiynol, gan alluogi Senedd Cymru hon a'ch Llywodraeth i wneud y penderfyniad gorau a fydd hefyd yn orau i gleifion. Felly, mae gennyf gwestiwn ac esboniad, Weinidog, ynglŷn â pham nad oes arbenigwr thrombectomi yng ngogledd Cymru. Dim ond dau sydd wedi'u cyflogi, ac mae'r ddau ohonynt yng Nghaerdydd. Mae Betsi Cadwaladr yn anfon cleifion i Ysbyty Walton. Fel yr amlinellir gan ymgyrch Saving Brains y Gymdeithas Strôc, gallai thrombectomi leihau'r perygl o anableddau fel parlys neu ddallineb yn sylweddol, a gallai hefyd arbed £47,000 y claf i'r GIG dros bum mlynedd. Cafodd llai nag 1 y cant o gleifion strôc yng Nghymru thrombectomi yn 2021. Felly, nid yw'n ddigon da. Rhyngom, dylem allu cytuno i weithio gyda byrddau iechyd i gyflawni gwell na hynny a sefydlu cynllun gweithlu fel bod gan ogledd Cymru ei arbenigwr ei hun hefyd. Eto i gyd, mae gennym lai o wasanaethau na'r de, ac rydym yn gorfod dibynnu ar Loegr, ond rwyf eisiau dweud bod Walton yn eithriadol o dda. Er hynny, rydym wedi cael datganoli ers bron i 25 mlynedd. Weinidog, fel y gallwch ddychmygu, mae hon yn ddadl sy'n agos iawn at galonnau fy nghyd-Aelodau ar feinciau'r Ceidwadwyr Cymreig, ond mae hefyd yn agos at galonnau a meddyliau fy etholwyr yn Aberconwy, a llawer iawn o bobl ledled Cymru. Gwn eich bod yn gwrando ar yr hyn a ddywedwn yma; os gwelwch yn dda, ar y mater hwn, astudiwch y cynnig yn ofalus a gwnewch yr hyn a allwch i helpu ein dioddefwyr strôc. Diolch.