English: I congratulate David Melding on getting this debate today, and I'm pleased to support him. As we know from the debate, arthritis isn't just something that older people get, because I think that is often what people think. I became aware of childhood arthritis, which affects 400 children in south Wales, after being contacted by a constituent, Dawn Nyhan, and I met her and her daughter Harriet, who is now 19. She was first diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis when she was just two years old, similar to David's constituent. As well as the more well-known effects of childhood arthritis, such as joint damage and mobility problems, which have already been mentioned today, perhaps less well-known is that 10 to 20 per cent of children develop an inflammatory eye condition that can cause blindness if not treated. So, this illness is a very severe condition if it is left untreated. About 60 to 70 per cent of children grow out of rheumatoid arthritis, in that they don't have ongoing disease, but they may still have to cope with ongoing problems as a result of joint damage they suffered when they were younger, and between 30 and 56 per cent of people with childhood arthritis will experience severe limitations in dexterity and mobility in adulthood. Sadly, Harriet's problems are ongoing, although she is determined not to let it stop her achieving. Harriet is now training to be a nurse, but she has such damage to her joints that mobility is a problem and she still has days when she can't walk down the stairs and she's in excruciating pain, and she never knows when her next procedure or surgery will be required. Harriet's mother, Dawn, said that they first noticed pain and problems moving when she was two years old. She had been an early walker but was reduced to shuffling to get around and was obviously in great pain. At first, the parents were told it was growing pains and they were passed, they felt, from pillar to post without a diagnosis. David mentioned about the importance of early diagnosis in his speech. I think that is really one of the points that we need to address today - there's not enough knowledge among GPs of junior arthritis, and the family also found that there was no knowledge of it in A&E when they took Harriet there. Eventually, after about five months, they had a diagnosis and, since then, they say they have had fantastic care - the problem was reaching that actual point. And, of course, it's also important to note, as we've already heard, that they have the excellent care from their consultant, Jeremy Camilleri, who is also my constituent. He always does his utmost to help, but he is still an adult rheumatologist who can only dedicate a quarter of his working time to children. This motion highlights the need for a specialist, dedicated child rheumatology specialist for the population of south Wales, really, which has a population that does justify that. In Harriet's case, lots of physiotherapy and support, and the use of the hydro pool at UHW, literally did help to get her back on her feet. But there have been continued flare-ups of pain and swelling in Harriet's knees and ankles throughout her school career. She's had to spend a huge amount of her time in hospital, either to receive treatment or to have fluid drained from her joints. She also lost a lot of school time, and I think this loss of school time is a very important issue. Her parents found it difficult to get support for learning at home, although the school, Llanishen High School, was absolutely very supportive about sending work home. But she wasn't able to get a tutor at home, so they had to pay for private tutors to help Harriet get 10 GCSEs - three A* and seven As - despite having a very low attendance record at school and having surgery on her joints during both years of GCSE exams. So, I really do feel that, with all the problems she's encountered, and with such support from her parents, she has really achieved very well. She was a keen sportswoman and she captained the hockey team until she was 16, when she was told her playing days were over because of the amount of bone damage she had suffered on her knees because of the arthritis. So, we know that there are hundreds of children with this extremely painful condition and if it's not treated in childhood, bone damage and damaged joints are the result. While children do need the treatment in hospital, we've already heard about the difficulty of the long car journeys to get that treatment, and those journeys are very painful. So, I hope that the Cabinet Secretary will think of a model that can address all the issues that have been raised today and can find some way of addressing this very debilitating, very important illness, which can be prevented and can be addressed if it is diagnosed early enough. Thank you.
Welsh: Rwy'n llongyfarch David Melding ar gael y ddadl hon heddiw, ac rwy'n falch o'i gefnogi. Fel y gwyddom o'r drafodaeth, nid rhywbeth y mae pobl hŷn yn unig yn ei gael yw arthritis, oherwydd credaf mai dyna fydd pobl yn aml yn ei feddwl. Deuthum yn ymwybodol o arthritis plentyndod, sy'n effeithio ar 400 o blant yn ne Cymru, ar ôl i un o fy etholwyr, Dawn Nyhan, ddod i gysylltiad â mi a chyfarfûm â hi a'i merch Harriet, sydd bellach yn 19. Cafodd ei diagnosis cyntaf o arthritis idiopathig ieuenctid pan oedd yn ddim ond dwy oed, yn debyg i etholwr David. Yn ogystal ag effeithiau mwy cyfarwydd arthritis plentyndod, megis niwed i'r cymalau a phroblemau symudedd, sydd eisoes wedi cael eu crybwyll heddiw, efallai ei bod yn llai hysbys fod 10 i 20 y cant o blant yn datblygu cyflwr llygad llidiol a all achosi dallineb os na chaiff ei drin. Felly, mae'r salwch hwn yn gyflwr difrifol iawn os caiff ei adael heb ei drin. Mae tua 60 i 70 y cant o blant yn tyfu allan o arthritis gwynegol, yn yr ystyr nad oes ganddynt glefyd parhaus, ond mae'n bosibl y bydd yn rhaid iddynt barhau i ymdopi â phroblemau o ganlyniad i niwed i'r cymalau a ddioddefasant pan oeddent yn iau, a bydd rhwng 30 a 56 y cant o bobl ag arthritis plentyndod yn dioddef cyfyngiadau difrifol o ran deheurwydd a symudedd pan fyddant yn oedolion. Yn anffodus, mae problemau Harriet yn barhaus, er ei bod yn benderfynol o beidio â gadael iddo ei hatal rhag cyflawni. Mae Harriet bellach yn hyfforddi i fod yn nyrs, ond mae hi wedi cael cymaint o niwed i'r cymalau fel bod symudedd yn broblem ac mae hi'n dal i gael dyddiau pan na all gerdded i lawr y grisiau ac mae mewn poen dirdynnol, ac nid yw byth yn gwybod pryd y bydd angen triniaeth neu lawdriniaeth arni nesaf. Dywedodd mam Harriet, Dawn, eu bod wedi sylwi ar boen a phroblemau gyda symud yn gyntaf pan oedd hi'n ddwy flwydd oed. Roedd hi wedi dechrau cerdded yn gynnar ond dechreuodd lusgo'i thraed ac roedd hi'n amlwg mewn poen mawr. Ar y dechrau, dywedwyd wrth y rhieni mai poenau tyfiant oeddent a theimlent eu bod wedi cael eu trosglwyddo o un man i'r llall heb ddiagnosis. Soniodd David am bwysigrwydd diagnosis cynnar yn ei araith. Credaf o ddifrif mai dyna un o'r pwyntiau y mae angen i ni fynd i'r afael â hwy heddiw. Nid oes digon o wybodaeth ymhlith meddygon teulu ynglŷn ag arthritis ieuenctid, a gwelodd y teulu hefyd nad oedd unrhyw wybodaeth am y cyflwr yn yr adran ddamweiniau ac achosion brys pan fyddent yn mynd â Harriet yno. Yn y pen draw, ar ôl tua phum mis, cawsant ddiagnosis ac ers hynny, maent yn dweud eu bod wedi cael gofal gwych - y broblem oedd cyrraedd y pwynt hwnnw. Ac wrth gwrs, mae hefyd yn bwysig nodi, fel y clywsom eisoes, eu bod yn cael gofal ardderchog gan eu meddyg ymgynghorol, Jeremy Camilleri, sydd hefyd yn un o fy etholwyr. Mae bob amser yn gwneud ei orau glas i helpu, ond rhiwmatolegydd oedolion ydyw er hynny, ac ni all neilltuo mwy na chwarter ei amser ar gyfer gweithio gyda phlant. Mae'r cynnig hwn yn tynnu sylw at yr angen am arbenigwr rhewmatoleg penodedig ar gyfer plant i dde Cymru, sydd â phoblogaeth ddigon mawr i gyfiawnhau hynny. Yn achos Harriet, fe wnaeth llawer o ffisiotherapi a chefnogaeth a'r defnydd o'r pwll hydro yn Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru helpu i'w chael yn ôl ar ei thraed yn llythrennol. Ond mae Harriet wedi bod yn parhau i gael pyliau o boen a chwyddo yn ei phengliniau a'i fferau drwy gydol ei gyrfa ysgol. Mae hi wedi gorfod treulio llawer iawn o'i hamser yn yr ysbyty, naill ai i gael triniaeth neu i gael hylif wedi'i ddraenio o'i chymalau. Mae hi hefyd yn colli llawer o amser ysgol, ac rwy'n credu bod colli ysgol fel hyn yn fater pwysig iawn. Cafodd ei rhieni drafferth i gael cymorth ar gyfer dysgu yn y cartref, er bod yr ysgol, Ysgol Uwchradd Llanisien, yn gwbl gefnogol ynglŷn ag anfon gwaith adref. Ond ni allodd gael tiwtor yn y cartref, felly roedd yn rhaid iddynt dalu am diwtoriaid preifat i helpu Harriet i gael 10 TGAU - tair A* a saith A - er bod ei chofnod presenoldeb yn yr ysgol yn isel iawn ac er iddi gael llawdriniaeth ar ei chymalau yn ystod y ddwy flynedd roedd ganddi arholiadau TGAU. Felly, rwy'n teimlo'n gryf, gyda'r holl broblemau mae hi wedi'u hwynebu, a chyda chymaint o gefnogaeth gan ei rhieni, ei bod hi wedi cyflawni'n dda iawn. Roedd hi'n frwd ynglŷn â chwaraeon a bu'n gapten y tîm hoci nes ei bod yn 16 oed, pan ddywedwyd wrthi fod ei dyddiau chwarae drosodd oherwydd ei bod wedi dioddef cymaint o niwed i esgyrn ei phengliniau oherwydd yr arthritis. Felly, gwyddom fod cannoedd o blant yn dioddef o'r cyflwr eithriadol o boenus hwn ac os na chaiff ei drin yn ystod eu plentyndod, y canlyniad fydd niwed i'r esgyrn a'r cymalau. Er bod plant angen y driniaeth yn yr ysbyty, rydym eisoes wedi clywed am anhawster teithiau hir yn y car i gael y driniaeth honno, ac mae'r teithiau hynny'n boenus iawn. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio y bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn meddwl am fodel a all fynd i'r afael â'r holl broblemau a nodwyd heddiw ac y gall ddod o hyd i ffordd o fynd i'r afael â'r salwch gwanychol pwysig hwn, y gellir ei atal ac y gellir mynd i'r afael ag ef os gwneir diagnosis yn ddigon cynnar. Diolch.