English: The estimated learning disabled population in Wales of 70,000 people are at a greater risk of physical and mental ill health, have a lower standard of health and a greater risk of developing poorer health, are twice as likely to access secondary care in an emergency, and die, on average, decades before the general population. Thirty-eight per cent of these deaths are avoidable - more than four times the rate of the general population - with hundreds more dying of avoidable deaths in secondary care. Yet, hospital staff do not receive focused learning disability training and are therefore not equipped to deliver the level of care required. Mencap Cymru and the Paul Ridd Foundation are therefore right to call for mandatory learning disability training for hospital staff and to highlight the result of the Bangor University MSc research, funded by Mencap Cymru, which supported the hypothesis that improvements were seen in the attitudes held by hospital staff members towards patients with learning disabilities, following their participation in the learning disability awareness sessions. This is particularly topical, where a report by the UK Parliament's joint committee on human rights said last Friday that mental health legislation must be overhauled to stop the horrific inappropriate detention of young people with autism and learning disabilities, and where the UK health Secretary announced yesterday that thousands of mental health patients with learning disabilities and autism will have their care reviewed over the next 12 months, and each will be provided with a hospital discharge date or plan to move closer to home. We must hope that the Welsh Government will participate fully in this on behalf of affected patients from Wales. The nature of an individual's learning disability varies widely and will affect the kind of support they may require. Many people with a learning disability will have a reduced ability to cope independently in a variety of situations, including health services. The Paul Ridd Foundation and Mencap Cymru recommend that all hospital staff working in a role that contributes to the health outcomes of people with a learning disability or autism should have the proposed training. As Mencap Cymru state, however: 'Autism is not a learning disability'. And as the National Autistic Society state: 'Autistic people can have different "degrees" of learning disability Some people will be able to live fairly independently - although they may need a degree of support to achieve this - while others may require lifelong, specialist support. People with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome do not usually have accompanying learning disabilities, but may still have specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia.' As I'm told daily by people with direct lived experience - the real experts - we must ensure that the learning disabled and autism communities are given a direct role in the design and delivery of services, moving beyond awareness to understanding, acceptance and empowerment. In other words, instead of making them fit into a model designed by people who don't think like them, we must become more flexible in the delivery of services and see the world through their eyes. As the Paul Ridd Foundation and Mencap state 'we need: more than E-Learning,' as we heard. Content and training materials should be co-produced with people with a learning disability or autism and their families. Unconscious bias and implicit attitudes need to be addressed, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Equality Act 2010 must also be central to any training. And we must remember that that Equality Act 2010 requires that service providers must think ahead to take steps to address barriers that impede disabled people. In doing this, it is a good idea, it says, to consider the range of disabilities that your actual or potential service users might have. You should not wait until a disabled person experiences difficulties using a service. That's the law. However, the regulation of health professionals, as opposed to social work professionals, is a matter reserved to the UK Government under the Government of Wales Act, which means that the Welsh Government could find itself in breach if it introduced a mandatory requirement for training of health professionals other than generic equality training. The Welsh Government could instead adopt the approach consequently taken in Paul Davies's defeated Autism (Wales) Bill, and make suitable learning disability or autism training available for health professionals. The good news, however, as was briefly referred to previously, is that yesterday, following a public consultation, the UK Government announced its intention to introduce mandatory learning disability and autism training and its commitment to work with all professional bodies and the devolved administrations to agree a common core curriculum. Hopefully, therefore, we have a way ahead.
Welsh: Mae'r nifer amcangyfrifedig o'r boblogaeth anableddau dysgu yng Nghymru o 70,000 o bobl mewn mwy o berygl o afiechyd corfforol a meddyliol, o safon iechyd is a mwy o risg o ddatblygu iechyd gwaeth, maent ddwywaith yn fwy tebygol o gael mynediad at ofal eilaidd mewn argyfwng, ac maent yn marw, ar gyfartaledd, ddegawdau cyn y boblogaeth yn gyffredinol. Mae 38 y cant o'r marwolaethau hyn yn rhai y gellir eu hosgoi - mwy na phedair gwaith y gyfradd yn y boblogaeth yn gyffredinol - gyda channoedd yn fwy yn marw o farwolaethau y gellir eu hosgoi mewn gofal eilaidd. Eto i gyd, nid yw staff ysbytai'n cael hyfforddiant penodol ar anabledd dysgu ac felly nid ydynt yn gymwys i ddarparu'r lefel o ofal sydd ei hangen. Felly mae Mencap Cymru a Sefydliad Paul Ridd yn iawn i alw am hyfforddiant anabledd dysgu gorfodol i staff ysbytai ac i dynnu sylw at ganlyniad ymchwil MSc Prifysgol Bangor, a ariannwyd gan Mencap Cymru, a oedd yn cefnogi'r ddamcaniaeth fod gwelliannau i'w gweld yn ymagweddau aelodau o staff ysbytai tuag at gleifion ag anableddau dysgu ar ôl iddynt gymryd rhan yn y sesiynau ymwybyddiaeth o anabledd dysgu. Mae hyn yn arbennig o amserol, gan fod adroddiad gan gyd-bwyllgor Senedd y DU ar hawliau dynol wedi dweud ddydd Gwener diwethaf fod yn rhaid i ddeddfwriaeth iechyd meddwl gael ei hadolygu i atal pobl ifanc ag awtistiaeth ac anableddau dysgu rhag cael eu cadw dan glo yn amhriodol, a chyhoeddodd Ysgrifennydd iechyd y DU ddoe y caiff gofal miloedd o gleifion iechyd meddwl ag anableddau dysgu ac awtistiaeth ei adolygu dros y 12 mis nesaf, a chaiff pob un ddyddiad rhyddhau o'r ysbyty neu gynllun er mwyn symud yn agosach at adref. Mae'n rhaid i ni obeithio y bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cymryd rhan lawn yn hyn ar ran cleifion yr effeithir arnynt o Gymru. Mae natur anabledd dysgu unigolyn yn amrywio'n fawr a bydd yn effeithio ar y math o gymorth y gall fod ei angen arnynt. Bydd gan lawer o bobl ag anabledd dysgu lai o allu i ymdopi'n annibynnol mewn amrywiaeth o sefyllfaoedd, gan gynnwys gwasanaethau iechyd. Mae Sefydliad Paul Ridd a Mencap Cymru yn argymell y dylai pob aelod o staff ysbytai sy'n gweithio mewn rôl sy'n cyfrannu at ganlyniadau iechyd pobl ag anabledd dysgu neu awtistiaeth gael yr hyfforddiant a argymhellir. Fodd bynnag, fel y dywed Mencap Cymru: Nid anabledd dysgu yw awtistiaeth. Ac fel y dywed Cymdeithas Genedlaethol Awtistiaeth: Gall fod gan bobl awtistig wahanol "raddau" o anabledd dysgu Bydd rhai pobl yn gallu byw'n eithaf annibynnol - er y gallent fod angen rhywfaint o gymorth i gyflawni hyn - tra bydd eraill angen cymorth arbenigol gydol oes o bosibl. Fel arfer nid oes gan bobl sydd wedi cael diagnosis o syndrom Asperger anableddau dysgu cysylltiedig, ond efallai y bydd ganddynt anawsterau dysgu penodol, megis dyslecsia. Fel y dywedir wrthyf yn ddyddiol gan bobl sydd â phrofiad byw uniongyrchol - yr arbenigwyr go iawn - rhaid inni sicrhau bod y cymunedau anabledd dysgu ac awtistiaeth yn cael rhan uniongyrchol yn y gwaith o gynllunio a darparu gwasanaethau, gan symud y tu hwnt i ymwybyddiaeth i ddeall, derbyn a grymuso. Mewn geiriau eraill, yn hytrach na gwneud iddynt ffitio i fodel a gynlluniwyd gan bobl nad ydynt yn meddwl fel y gwnânt hwy, rhaid inni ddod yn fwy hyblyg wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau a gweld y byd drwy eu llygaid hwy. Fel y dywed Sefydliad Paul Ridd a Mencap, mae angen mwy nag e-ddysgu. Dylid cydgynhyrchu cynnwys a deunydd hyfforddi gyda phobl ag anabledd dysgu neu awtistiaeth a'u teuluoedd. Rhaid mynd i'r afael â rhagfarn anymwybodol ac ymagweddau ymhlyg, ac mae'n rhaid i Ddeddf Galluedd Meddyliol 2005 a Deddf Cydraddoldeb 2010 hefyd fod yn ganolog i unrhyw hyfforddiant. Ac mae'n rhaid i ni gofio bod Deddf Cydraddoldeb 2010 yn mynnu bod yn rhaid i ddarparwyr gwasanaethau feddwl ymlaen llaw a chymryd camau i fynd i'r afael â rhwystrau sy'n llesteirio pobl anabl. Wrth wneud hyn, mae'n dweud ei bod yn syniad da i ystyried yr amrywiaeth o anableddau a allai fod gan eich defnyddwyr gwasanaethau neu eich darpar ddefnyddwyr gwasanaethau. Ni ddylech aros nes bod person anabl yn cael anawsterau wrth ddefnyddio gwasanaeth. Dyna'r gyfraith. Fodd bynnag, mae rheoleiddio gweithwyr iechyd proffesiynol, yn hytrach na gweithwyr cymdeithasol proffesiynol, yn fater a gadwyd yn ôl i Lywodraeth y DU o dan Ddeddf Llywodraeth Cymru, sy'n golygu y gallai Llywodraeth Cymru ei thorri pe bai'n cyflwyno gofyniad gorfodol i hyfforddi gweithwyr iechyd proffesiynol ar wahân i hyfforddiant cydraddoldeb generig. Yn hytrach, gallai Llywodraeth Cymru fabwysiadu'r dull a ddilynwyd wedi hynny ym Mil Awtistiaeth (Cymru) Paul Davies, Bil a gafodd ei wrthod, a sicrhau bod hyfforddiant anabledd dysgu neu awtistiaeth addas ar gael i weithwyr iechyd proffesiynol. Y newyddion da, fodd bynnag, fel y nodwyd yn fyr yn flaenorol, yw bod Llywodraeth y DU, yn dilyn ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus, wedi cyhoeddi ei bwriad ddoe i gyflwyno hyfforddiant gorfodol ar anabledd dysgu ac awtistiaeth a'i hymrwymiad i weithio gyda phob corff proffesiynol a'r gweinyddiaethau datganoledig i gytuno ar gwricwlwm craidd cyffredin. Gobeithio, felly, fod gennym ffordd ymlaen.