English: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Can I thank the Conservatives for bringing forward this important motion? I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate, and I'd like to associate myself with much of what Darren Millar has said. I think it was a very thoughtful portrayal of what is a very complex problem. I think, particularly, we can all agree that there is something really wrong with the waiting time targets. When somebody is seriously mentally ill, they need help immediately, and there is a real risk that, if somebody presents asking for help and they don't get it immediately, their condition will worsen. If it's got a comorbidity with drug and alcohol, as often is the case, you will have people whose self-medication may get out of control - that is one of the reasons I believe that we end up seeing such a high proportion of our prison population being people with mental health issues, because sometimes those mental health issues are not addressed in a timely way. And I say that in the co-operative spirit in which Darren Millar has put forward this debate. I think we would all aspire here for better and we have to look to the Minister to deliver that. I won't repeat the comments that Darren has made. I just want to speak very briefly, Llywydd, to our two amendments and to begin by saying we won't support the Government amendment, because we think Darren Millar has made a very strong case for the need to have co-located emergency crisis teams in A&E departments. I have myself seen some very distressing situations, very busy A&E doctors trying to deal with young people, particularly, presenting with very serious mental health issues. They haven't got the capacity or the skills to do it and they need somebody to be able to come in straight away, somewhere where they can refer straight away. I can think of one particular case where I had to sit in A&E with a very, very highly distressed young person who was suicidal, and there was nowhere for her to be taken, except at that stage - and this was some years ago, thank goodness - potentially a police cell. You can imagine how awful that was for her but also for the medical staff that were dealing with her. So, we believe the case for co-located teams is made. If I can turn to our own amendments and amendment 3, there is no doubt that successive changes in the social security system, which, of course, were begun by Lord Freud under Tony Blair - the work capacity assessments - have hit people with mental health issues very hard. It is easy to see if somebody has, say, a physical disability that means they need to use a wheelchair. It is much harder to see how debilitating a mental health problem can be. I have to say that, as an elected Member in this place, I have never failed to win an appeal, when I have supported a person with a mental health problem, from their original Atos test - where, of course, the tests are undertaken by people who are not qualified and they don't know, frankly, very often, what they're doing - and I'm sure there are many of us in the room who've been able to support successful appeals. But I am left with the question about people who do not know, who don't have somebody with them who can seek that kind of advocacy. These tests were clearly designed by people who do not understand the experience of invisible disability; they don't understand fluctuating conditions. And the very process of forcing people with an ongoing mental health issue to repeatedly be reassessed is actually - and I can think again, and I'm sure others in this room - exacerbating mental ill health. We need to challenge this and one practical way in which we could do that here is to ensure that community mental health teams across Wales have really strong relationships with local benefits advice, so that those people who have to go through those assessments - much as we might like to see them gone - have some proper professional support. it isn't always possible for them -
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. A gaf fi ddiolch i'r Ceidwadwyr am gyflwyno'r cynnig pwysig hwn? Rwy'n croesawu'r cyfle i gymryd rhan yn y ddadl hon, a hoffwn gysylltu fy hun â llawer o'r hyn a ddywedodd Darren Millar. Credaf ei fod yn bortread meddylgar iawn o'r hyn sy'n broblem gymhleth iawn. Yn benodol, rwy'n credu y gall pawb ohonom gytuno bod rhywbeth mawr o'i le gyda'r targedau amseroedd aros. Pan fydd rhywun yn dioddef salwch meddwl difrifol, mae angen help arnynt yn syth, ac os oes rhywun yn gofyn am help ac nad ydynt yn ei gael ar unwaith, mae gwir berygl y bydd eu cyflwr yn gwaethygu. Os oes ganddynt gydafiachedd gyda chyffuriau ac alcohol, fel sy'n digwydd yn aml, bydd gennych bobl y gallai eu hunanfeddyginiaethu fynd allan o reolaeth - dyna un o'r rhesymau pam y credaf ein bod yn gweld cyfran mor uchel o boblogaeth ein carchardai yn bobl sydd â phroblemau iechyd meddwl, oherwydd weithiau nid ymdrinnir â'r problemau iechyd meddwl hynny mewn ffordd amserol. Ac rwy'n dweud hynny yn yr ysbryd cydweithredol y cyflwynodd Darren Millar y ddadl hon ynddo. Credaf y byddai pawb ohonom yma yn dyheu am well a rhaid inni ddisgwyl i'r Gweinidog gyflawni hynny. Nid wyf am ailadrodd y sylwadau a wnaeth Darren. Rwyf am siarad yn fyr, Lywydd, am ein dau welliant a dechrau drwy ddweud na fyddwn yn cefnogi gwelliant y Llywodraeth, oherwydd credwn fod Darren Millar wedi gwneud achos cryf iawn dros yr angen i gydleoli timau argyfwng brys mewn adrannau damweiniau ac achosion brys. Yn bersonol gwelais sefyllfaoedd sy'n peri gofid mawr, meddygon adrannau damweiniau ac achosion brys yn ceisio ymdrin â phobl ifanc, yn enwedig, gyda phroblemau iechyd meddwl difrifol iawn. Nid oes ganddynt gapasiti na sgiliau i wneud hynny ac mae angen rhywun i allu dod i mewn ar unwaith, rhywle lle gallant atgyfeirio cleifion ar unwaith. Gallaf feddwl am un achos penodol pan oedd yn rhaid i mi eistedd mewn adran damweiniau ac achosion brys gyda pherson ifanc mewn trallod mawr a oedd yn hunanladdol, ac nid oedd unman i fynd â hi, ar wahân i gell yr heddlu o bosibl ar y cam hwnnw - ac roedd hyn rai blynyddoedd yn ôl, diolch byth. Gallwch ddychmygu pa mor ofnadwy oedd hynny iddi ond hefyd i'r staff meddygol a oedd yn ymdrin â hi. Felly, credwn fod yr achos dros gyd-leoli timau wedi'i wneud. Os caf droi at ein gwelliannau ni a gwelliant 3, nid oes unrhyw amheuaeth fod newidiadau olynol yn y system nawdd cymdeithasol, a gychwynnwyd, wrth gwrs, gan yr Arglwydd Freud o dan Tony Blair - yr asesiadau o'r gallu i weithio - wedi taro pobl â phroblemau iechyd meddwl yn galed iawn. Mae'n hawdd gweld os oes gan rywun anabledd corfforol, dywedwch, sy'n golygu bod angen iddynt ddefnyddio cadair olwyn. Mae'n llawer anos gweld pa mor wanychol y gall problem iechyd meddwl fod. Rhaid imi ddweud, fel Aelod etholedig yn y lle hwn, nad wyf erioed wedi methu ennill apêl wrth i mi gefnogi person sydd â phroblem iechyd meddwl, yn sgil prawf Atos gwreiddiol - lle cynhelir y profion, wrth gwrs, gan bobl nad ydynt yn gymwys ac nad ydynt yn gwybod beth y maent yn ei wneud yn aml iawn, a bod yn onest - ac rwy'n siŵr fod llawer ohonom yn yr ystafell wedi llwyddo i gefnogi apeliadau llwyddiannus. Ond caf fy ngadael gyda'r cwestiwn ynglŷn â phobl nad ydynt yn gwybod, sydd heb rywun gyda hwy a all sicrhau'r math hwnnw o eiriolaeth. Lluniwyd y profion hyn yn amlwg gan bobl nad ydynt yn deall y profiad o anabledd anweledig; nid ydynt yn deall cyflyrau sy'n gyfnewidiol. Ac mae'r broses o orfodi pobl â phroblem iechyd meddwl barhaus i gael eu hailasesu dro ar ôl tro mewn gwirionedd - a gallaf feddwl eto, ac rwy'n siŵr y gall eraill yn yr ystafell hon - yn gwaethygu'r salwch meddwl. Mae angen inni herio hyn ac un ffordd ymarferol y gallem ei wneud yma yw sicrhau bod cysylltiadau cryf iawn gan dimau iechyd meddwl cymunedol ledled Cymru â chyngor lleol ar fudd-daliadau, fel bod y bobl sy'n gorfod mynd drwy'r asesiadau hynny - cymaint ag y byddem yn dymuno eu gweld yn diflannu - yn cael cymorth proffesiynol priodol. Nid yw bob amser yn bosibl iddynt -