English: Gemma Ellis, who is the lead sepsis nurse for the University Hospital of Wales and manages their outreach team would tell you that there are two issues here: post-sepsis syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. We probably all have an understanding of PTSD, but post-sepsis syndrome is a condition that affects up to 50 per cent of sepsis survivors. They are left with physical and/or psychological long-term effects, such as insomnia - boy, do I know about that one - difficulty getting to sleep, nightmares, disabling muscle and joint pains, extreme fatigue, poor concentration, decreased cognitive reasoning and functioning and a huge loss of self-esteem and self-belief. These lasting issues can be explained, but there is more to PSS that has yet to be understood, such as the disabling fatigue and chronic pain that many survivors experience and is not fully understood. Sepsis survivors have described it as: 'You never feel safe. Every time some little thing happens to you, "Do I need to go to hospital, or is this nothing?" is what you think.' Which brings me to the story of a lady who e-mailed me on Easter Saturday, distraught - not my constituent, but she'd somehow found me. She'd lost her child in labour and also contracted sepsis. She was treated and recovered. Nine weeks later, Easter Saturday, she felt very, very unwell, had the same set of symptoms as before and was terrified it was sepsis again. Reading her account is shocking. Not only was she rebuffed by A&E and out-of-hours, but there was no recognition that it might be sepsis again, and above all no recognition for the trauma she'd been through and her mental state. I'm in contact with her still. She didn't have sepsis, but she was very unwell. What a situation when an ill person turns to someone like me for help on an Easter weekend, because she was told to go away and get a grip. This is a very small excerpt from her e-mails: 'Doctors said it was found quickly before it could do any damage, but I can't help but think "What if it's back?" I don't even know what I want from this e-mail, but knowing you've been through this yourself, maybe you could help reassure me. I don't know much about sepsis. Doctors didn't really explain much, and Google has all sorts of stories. Thank you for taking time and reading my e-mail'. Cabinet Secretary, this sums up for me the real lack of awareness of what sepsis is in the general population, and the enormous gaps in the knowledge base and understanding of a great many in the medical and caring professions. My sepsis was three years ago. Rachel's was last year, and this lady's experience happened at Easter, 11 weeks ago. What has changed? Yes, there is a greater awareness amongst some, and I do recognise the intent of the Welsh Government, but on the ground, changes and training are slow to happen. There are some dedicated teams leading the charge in most health boards, but neither I or others on the cross-party group are convinced that this effort is able to make the changes we need. These teams are being supported enormously by the UK Sepsis Trust, which is led in Wales by Terence Canning, who also has first hand experience of losing a loved one because of sepsis. I appreciate that the Welsh Government are seeking to help sepsis survivors by signposting them to services and putting in place self-management plans, but sepsis survivors need far more dedicated support than that. I mentioned the indomitable Jayne Carpenter earlier. Having survived the trauma of losing multiple limbs, she and her husband then went through all manner of hell trying to get support so that they could carry on living in their family home. Social services simply didn't understand the issue. Adaptations to her home had to be fought for, and Jayne describes a punishing means-tested system. The reality is that their marvellous network of family and friends have paid for almost all of the adaptations that Jane needed to carry on with the new normal that is now her life. There are actions that can be taken, and I pay tribute to the UK Sepsis Trust for the work they've put into pushing this agenda forward, but I'm calling for more action by Welsh Government. I know there are costs and staff implications, but a public awareness campaign and much more training of everyone, from domiciliary care workers to consultants, is vital. This picture shows NHS England encouraging ambulances to display the UK Sepsis Trust's 'Just ask: Could it be sepsis?' poster. We could do something similar. The chief dental officer in England has agreed to mandate sepsis warning posters in English dental practices. Can we do the same here? The cross-party group survey of general practice showed a woeful lack of recognition and understanding. Can we run a campaign into general practice? Cabinet Secretary, we also need to have post-sepsis clinics, and an understanding that sepsis is a major illness with significant impacts on people. We need to support survivors and families and the bereaved in a much better way, and involve other public services, such as housing and social care. The NHS works in close collaboration with charities such as Tenovus and Macmillan in delivering support for those with cancer. The NHS could work in just such a manner with organisations such as the UK Sepsis Trust. Will you undertake to look at that? The UK Sepsis Trust are working on a national sepsis registry in England, with a place at the table for NHS England, NHS Digital and the UK Sepsis Trust, amongst others. And here I know that Dr Paul Morgan is leading on developing a sepsis registry for Wales. Could you update us on progress? Because if we can get reliable data, we can target NHS resources more effectively. Can we look at other models that the UK Sepsis Trust are already engaged with and see if any are suitable for Wales? And, finally, Cabinet Secretary, with one voice, we all ask for a properly funded public information campaign in schools, in mother and toddler groups, in care homes, doctors surgeries, anywhere and everywhere, because we all need to ask, 'Could it be sepsis?'
Welsh: Byddai Gemma Ellis, sy'n nyrs sepsis arweiniol yn Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru ac sy'n rheoli eu tîm allgymorth, yn dweud wrthych fod yna ddau fater yma: syndrom ôl-sepsis ac anhwylder straen wedi trawma. Mae'n debyg fod gennym oll ddealltwriaeth o anhwylder straen wedi trawma, ond mae syndrom ôl-sepsis yn gyflwr sy'n effeithio ar hyd at 50 y cant o oroeswyr sepsis. Cânt eu gadael gydag effeithiau corfforol a/neu seicolegol hirdymor, megis anhunedd - bois bach, rwy'n gwybod am hwnnw - anhawster mynd i gysgu, hunllefau, poenau sy'n anablu yn y cyhyrau a'r cymalau, blinder eithafol, canolbwyntio gwael, lleihad yn y gallu i resymu a gweithrediad gwybyddol a graddau helaeth o golli hunan-barch a hunan-gred. Gellir esbonio'r problemau parhaol hyn, ond mae mwy i syndrom ôl-sepsis sydd eto i'w ddeall, megis y blinder sy'n anablu a'r poen cronig y mae llawer o oroeswyr yn ei brofi ac nid yw'r rhain wedi eu deall yn llawn. Mae goroeswyr sepsis wedi ei ddisgrifio fel: 'Nid ydych byth yn teimlo'n ddiogel. Bob tro y mae rhywbeth bach yn digwydd i chi, mae "A oes angen imi fynd i'r ysbyty, neu a yw hyn yn ddim byd?" yn mynd drwy eich meddwl.' Sy'n dod â mi at stori menyw a anfonodd e-bost ataf ddydd Sadwrn y Pasg, mewn gofid mawr - nid yw'n un o fy etholwyr, ond roedd hi wedi dod o hyd i mi rywsut. Roedd hi wedi colli ei phlentyn wrth esgor a hefyd wedi cael sepsis. Cafodd ei thrin ac fe wellodd. Naw wythnos yn ddiweddarach, ddydd Sadwrn y Pasg, roedd hi'n teimlo'n sâl iawn, ac roedd ganddi yr un set o symptomau ag o'r blaen ac roedd arni ofn mai sepsis oedd hyn unwaith eto. Mae darllen ei stori'n syfrdanol. Nid yn unig ei bod hi wedi cael ei throi ymaith gan yr adran ddamweiniau ac achosion brys a'r gwasanaeth y tu allan i oriau, ond nid oedd unrhyw gydnabyddiaeth y gallai fod yn sepsis eto, ac yn anad dim, ni chafwyd unrhyw gydnabyddiaeth o'r trawma roedd hi wedi bod drwyddo a'i chyflwr meddwl. Rwy'n dal i fod mewn cysylltiad â hi. Nid oedd ganddi sepsis, ond roedd hi'n sâl iawn. Am sefyllfa, pan fo person sâl yn troi at rywun fel fi am help ar benwythnos y Pasg am eu bod wedi dweud wrthi am fynd adref ac ymbwyllo. Dyma ddarn bach iawn o'i negeseuon e-bost: 'Dywedodd meddygon ei fod wedi'i ganfod yn gyflym cyn iddo allu gwneud unrhyw niwed, ond ni allaf help ond meddwl "Beth os yw wedi dod yn ôl?" Nid wyf yn gwybod beth rwyf ei eisiau o'r e-bost hwn hyd yn oed, ond o wybod eich bod chi wedi bod drwy hyn eich hun, efallai y gallwch helpu i dawelu fy meddwl. Nid wyf yn gwybod llawer am sepsis. Ni wnaeth y meddygon esbonio llawer mewn gwirionedd, ac mae pob math o straeon ar Google. Diolch ichi am roi amser i ddarllen fy e-bost'. Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, i mi mae hyn yn crynhoi'r diffyg ymwybyddiaeth sy'n bodoli o'r hyn yw sepsis yn y boblogaeth gyffredinol, a'r bylchau enfawr yn sylfaen wybodaeth a dealltwriaeth llawer iawn o bobl yn y proffesiynau meddygol a gofalu. Cefais fy sepsis i dair blynedd yn ôl, a Rachel y llynedd, a digwyddodd profiad y wraig hon adeg y Pasg, 11 wythnos yn ôl. Beth sydd wedi newid? Oes, mae mwy o ymwybyddiaeth ymhlith rhai, ac rwy'n cydnabod bwriad Llywodraeth Cymru, ond ar lawr gwlad, mae newidiadau a hyfforddiant yn araf i ddigwydd. Mae rhai timau penodedig yn arwain yn y rhan fwyaf o fyrddau iechyd, ond rwyf fi ac eraill yn y grŵp trawsbleidiol heb ein hargyhoeddi fod yr ymdrech hon yn gallu gwneud y newidiadau sydd eu hangen. Mae'r timau hyn yn cael eu cefnogi'n helaeth gan Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU, sy'n cael ei arwain yng Nghymru gan Terence Canning, sydd hefyd â phrofiad uniongyrchol o golli rhywun annwyl oherwydd sepsis. Rwy'n sylweddoli bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn ceisio helpu goroeswyr sepsis drwy eu cyfeirio at wasanaethau a gosod cynlluniau hunanreoli ar waith, ond mae goroeswyr sepsis angen llawer mwy o gymorth penodol na hynny. Soniais yn gynharach am Jayne Carpenter, sy'n ddynes anorchfygol. Ar ôl goroesi'r trawma o golli ei braich a'i choesau, aeth hi a'i gŵr drwy bob math o uffern wedyn yn ceisio cael cymorth fel y gallent barhau i fyw yn eu cartref teuluol. Yn syml iawn, nid oedd y gwasanaethau cymdeithasol yn deall y broblem. Bu'n rhaid ymladd am addasiadau i'w chartref, ac mae Jayne yn disgrifio system brawf modd sy'n lladdfa. Y realiti yw mai eu rhwydwaith gwych o deulu a ffrindiau sydd wedi talu am bron bob un o'r addasiadau a oedd eu hangen ar Jane i barhau gyda normalrwydd newydd ei bywyd bellach. Mae yna gamau y gellir eu cymryd, ac rwy'n talu teyrnged i Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU am y gwaith y maent wedi ei wneud yn gwthio'r agenda hon, ond rwy'n galw am fwy o weithredu gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Gwn fod yna oblygiadau o ran costau a staff, ond mae ymgyrch ymwybyddiaeth y cyhoedd a llawer mwy o hyfforddiant i bawb, o weithwyr gofal cartref i feddygon ymgynghorol, yn hanfodol. Dengys y llun hwn y GIG yn Lloegr yn annog ambiwlansys i arddangos poster 'Just ask: Could it be sepsis?' Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU. Gallem wneud rhywbeth tebyg. Mae'r prif swyddog deintyddol yn Lloegr wedi cytuno i fynnu bod pob practis deintyddol yn Lloegr yn dangos posteri rhybudd sepsis. A gawn ni wneud yr un peth yma? Dangosodd arolwg y grŵp trawsbleidiol o ymarfer cyffredinol ddiffyg truenus o ran adnabod a dealltwriaeth o sepsis. A gawn ni gynnal ymgyrch ar gyfer ymarfer cyffredinol? Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, mae angen inni hefyd gael clinigau ôl-sepsis, a dealltwriaeth fod sepsis yn salwch difrifol gydag effeithiau sylweddol ar bobl. Mae angen inni gefnogi goroeswyr a theuluoedd a'r rhai sy'n galaru mewn ffordd well o lawer, a chynnwys gwasanaethau cyhoeddus eraill, megis tai a gofal cymdeithasol. Mae'r GIG yn gweithio mewn cydweithrediad agos ag elusennau megis Tenovus a Macmillan i ddarparu cymorth ar gyfer rhai sydd â chanser. Gallai'r GIG weithio mewn dull o'r fath gyda sefydliadau megis Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU. A wnewch chi ymrwymo i edrych ar hynny? Mae Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU yn gweithio ar gofrestrfa sepsis genedlaethol yn Lloegr, gyda lle wrth y bwrdd ar gyfer y GIG yn Lloegr, NHS Digital ac Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU, ymhlith eraill. Ac yma, gwn fod Dr Paul Morgan yn arwain ar ddatblygu cofrestrfa sepsis ar gyfer Cymru. A allech roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf inni am y cynnydd? Oherwydd os gallwn gael data dibynadwy, gallwn dargedu adnoddau'r GIG yn fwy effeithiol. A gawn ni edrych ar fodelau eraill y mae Ymddiriedolaeth Sepsis y DU eisoes wedi ymwneud â hwy a gweld a oes unrhyw rai'n addas ar gyfer Cymru? Ac yn olaf, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, gydag un llais, mae pawb ohonom yn gofyn am ymgyrch wybodaeth i'r cyhoedd wedi'i hariannu'n briodol mewn ysgolion, mewn grwpiau mam a'i phlentyn, mewn cartrefi gofal, meddygfeydd, unrhyw le a phob man, oherwydd mae angen i bawb ohonom ofyn, 'A allai fod yn sepsis?'