English: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I formally move the amendment in the name of Siân Gwenllian. I'm sure that all of our inboxes include a number of examples of people suffering in their communities because they have to wait for an ambulance. For example, a constituent of mine in Abererch had to wait for 15 hours for an ambulance and she was in distress and her family were concerned for her life. And look at the staff, who often have to travel great distances the length and breadth of the country because there isn't an ambulance available nearby. In addition to this, there are concerns that there are cuts to ambulance services in some areas, for example, Aberystwyth and Cardigan, as we've heard recently. But why is this happening? Well, certainly it's not the fault of the staff of the ambulance service, who are stretched beyond all reason. Indeed it is a symptom of a deep-seated problem. Let's follow the journey of the patient. The patient goes into the ambulance, having waited for many hours, queues outside a hospital for hours, often behind a dozen or more other ambulances, and then, after a period in hospital, having made a sufficient recovery to return to the community, rather than being returned to the community, they can't release the patient because there isn't a community bed available or there is no social carer available for them. It is one crisis on top of another, emerging from the fact that there has been a historic shortage in terms of recruitment, retention and fair pay for health service staff. Of course, it would be wonderful to see more ambulances and paramedics available to respond on the front line, but I fear that all this would do would be to add to the queues of ambulances outside accident and emergency departments, because we need to look further up the system to see why it is overwhelmed. Back in 2012, we saw a number of significant changes to health services the length and breadth of Wales. In north Wales, a programme called 'Healthcare in North Wales is Changing' was sanctioned by the then Labour Government, and that led in turn to the closure of a number of community hospitals, such as Blaenau Ffestiniog, Llangollen and Flint, centralising and downgrading some services, with a pledge that there would be more care available in the community. Yes, health services in north Wales and across Wales changed, but not always for the better. This discussion here today is the upshot of all of those changes. In order to maintain an effective and sustainable health service, you need spare capacity in terms of beds. It's not me saying this but the specialists in this area. This is what the BMA told the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in 2016, and I will quote in English:
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. Dwi'n cynnig y gwelliant yn enw Siân Gwenllian yn ffurfiol. Dwi'n siŵr bod mewnflychau pob un yma heddiw yn cynnwys nifer o enghreifftiau o ddioddefaint pobl yn ein cymunedau oherwydd eu bod nhw'n gorfod aros am ambiwlans. Er enghraifft, bu'n rhaid i etholwraig i mi yn Abererch aros am 15 awr am ambiwlans, a hithau mewn llewyg a'r teulu'n poeni am ei bywyd. Neu, beth am ochr y staff, sydd yn aml yn gorfod teithio pellteroedd maith ar hyd a lled y wlad oherwydd nad oes yna ambiwlans ar gael gerllaw? Ar ben hyn, wrth gwrs, mae yna bryderon bod yna gwtogi ar wasanaethau ambiwlansys am fod mewn rhai ardaloedd, fel yn Aberystwyth ac Aberteifi, fel y clywson ni yn ddiweddar. Ond pam mae hyn yn digwydd? Yn sicr nid bai staff y gwasanaeth ambiwlans ydy o, sy'n cael eu hymestyn y tu hwnt i bob rheswm. Yn wir, mae'n symptom o broblem ddyfnach. Gadewch i ni ddilyn taith y claf. Mae'r claf yn mynd i mewn i'r ambiwlans, ar ôl aros am oriau lawer amdano fo, yn ciwio y tu allan i'r ysbyty am oriau, weithiau y tu ôl i ddwsin neu ragor o ambiwlansys eraill. Yna, ar ôl cyfnod yn yr ysbyty, a gwella'n ddigonol i fynd yn ôl yn y gymuned, yn hytrach, yn lle mynd i'r gymuned, maen nhw'n methu â rhyddhau o neu hi oherwydd nad oes yna wely cymunedol neu nad oes yna ofalwr cymdeithasol ar eu cyfer nhw. Mae'n un argyfwng ar ben y llall, sy'n deillio o'r ffaith bod yna brinder hanesyddol wedi bod mewn recriwtio, cynnal a rhoi tâl teg i staff ein gwasanaeth iechyd. Wrth gwrs, buasai'n wych gweld mwy o ambiwlansys a pharafeddygon ar gael i ymateb ar y rheng flaen, ond dwi'n ofni mai'r unig beth y buasai hyn yn ei wneud ydy ychwanegu at y ciwiau o ambiwlansys y tu allan i adrannau brys, oherwydd mae angen edrych i fyny'r system i weld beth sydd yn llethu'r system. Yn ôl yn 2012, gwelwyd nifer o newidiadau sylweddol i wasanaethau iechyd ar hyd a lled Cymru. Yn y gogledd, cyflwynwyd rhaglen a alwyd 'Mae Gofal Iechyd yng Ngogledd Cymru yn Newid', a chafodd hon ei sancsiynu gan y Llywodraeth Lafur ar y pryd, ac arweiniodd yn ei dro at gau nifer o ysbytai cymunedol fel Blaenau Ffestiniog, Llangollen a'r Fflint, gan ganoli ac israddio rhai o'n gwasanaethau, gyda'r addewid y byddai mwy o ofal yn y gymuned. Do, fe newidiodd gwasanaethau iechyd yn y gogledd ac ar draws Cymru, ond nid bob tro er gwell. Hwn heddiw, y drafodaeth yma heddiw, ydy canlyniad y newidiadau hynny. Er mwyn medru cynnal gwasanaeth iechyd effeithiol a chynaliadwy, mae angen capasiti sbâr o welyau arnom ni. Nid fi sy'n dweud hyn ond yr arbenigwyr. Dyma ddywedodd y BMA wrth y Pwyllgor Iechyd, Gofal Cymdeithasol a Chwaraeon yn 2016, a dwi am ddyfynnu yn Saesneg: