English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak this afternoon on the Public Accounts Committee's report on the informatics system in NHS Wales. The benefits of investing in new technology and IT are clear. Informatics can create a safer, more accessible and more sustainable healthcare system, helping the NHS to deliver better outcomes for patients and making more efficient use of financial and human resources. This report follows the previous documents by the Auditor General for Wales, published in January last year. He found that although the vision for an electronic patient record is clear and key elements are in place, there are significant delays in delivery. He went on to say there were key weaknesses in the arrangements to support and oversee delivery, and to ensure the system delivered the intended benefits. The auditor general made a number of recommendations, which, I am pleased to say, have received a very positive response from the Welsh Government. Following this report, the Public Accounts Committee agreed to hold its own inquiry into the informatics system in NHS Wales. It is very much the case that the committee's report is supplementary to that of the auditor general. During our hearing sessions, many concerns emerged or re-emerged. The main issues of concern remains the slow pace of delivery of a modern informatics system across the NHS in Wales and the underlying weaknesses in support and oversight arrangements. This concern is reflected in the frustration expressed across the NHS over delays in delivering electronic patient records, as well as concern about the resilience of core systems. We had hoped that the pace of change would have increased since the auditor general's report a year ago. However, this is not the case. In too many cases, the NHS still relies on outdated paper-based records. The NHS Wales Informatics Service is frustrated at the lack of direction from the wider NHS, but we've found that the NHS still does not openly recognise the scale and the depth of the problem. This may be indicative of a wider potential problem, which may reveal further matters of concern that are not yet apparent. What did become apparent was a lack of openness and transparency across the whole system. Some witnesses appear to be reluctant to go on record as being critical of the progress made, or of the arrangements in place. The auditor general found that NWIS was 'overly positive' in reporting progress. Deputy Presiding Officer, their complacent mood does not sit comfortably with the committee's finding that many digital projects are behind schedule, and others only on schedule because their timescales have been amended to show them on track. Shifting the goalposts does not address the problem. The sheer pace of technological change means that the continuing delay could result in the NHS in Wales being run on outdated IT systems. In addition to the strong endorsing of the existing recommendations made by the auditor general, this report makes five recommendations. I welcome the fact that all five recommendations have been accepted by the Welsh Government, in particular the request of the committee to receive six-monthly updates from the Welsh Government on progress on implementing the digital recommendations contained in the parliamentary review and the auditor general's report. This is essential if we are to speed up progress and deliver an IT system that is fit for purpose and delivers better outcomes for patients in Wales. I was lucky enough to meet Dr Alice Groves last week. She went to America with a group of doctors who went on a fact-finding mission especially to see this informatics system in America, and the American doctors were shocked when they were told that the NHS in Wales is still using outdated fax machines and, in some instances, that operations are being cancelled in NHS Wales operating theatres because the files for the patients were not received by the operating theatres. What I heard from Dr Groves was that we are miles behind in this field of NHS service in Wales, and we should follow a little bit and learn something from the US health service in Wales also. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch ichi, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n ddiolchgar am y cyfle i siarad y prynhawn yma ar adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus ar system wybodeg GIG Cymru. Mae manteision buddsoddi mewn technoleg newydd a TG yn amlwg. Gall gwybodeg greu system gofal iechyd sy'n fwy diogel, hygyrch a chynaliadwy i helpu'r GIG i ddarparu gwell canlyniadau i gleifion a gwneud defnydd mwy effeithlon o adnoddau ariannol a dynol. Mae'r adroddiad yn dilyn y dogfennau blaenorol gan Archwilydd Cyffredinol Cymru, a gyhoeddwyd ym mis Ionawr y llynedd. Er bod y weledigaeth o gofnod electronig am gleifion yn glir ac er bod elfennau allweddol yn eu lle, canfu fod oedi sylweddol o ran ei gweithredu. Aeth ymlaen i ddweud bod gwendidau allweddol yn y trefniadau i gefnogi a goruchwylio gweithrediad y system, ac i sicrhau bod y system yn cyflawni'r manteision a fwriadwyd. Gwnaeth yr archwilydd cyffredinol nifer o argymhellion, ac rwy'n falch o ddweud eu bod wedi cael ymateb cadarnhaol iawn gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Yn dilyn yr adroddiad hwn, cytunodd y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus i gynnal ei ymchwiliad ei hun i system wybodeg GIG Cymru. Mae'n sicr yn wir fod adroddiad y pwyllgor yn atodol i un yr archwilydd cyffredinol. Yn ystod ein sesiynau gwrando, roedd llawer o bryderon yn codi dro ar ôl tro. Y brif broblem o hyd yw arafwch y broses o ddarparu system wybodeg fodern ar draws y GIG yng Nghymru a'r gwendidau sylfaenol yn y trefniadau cymorth a goruchwylio. Adlewyrchir y pryder hwn yn y rhwystredigaeth a fynegwyd ar draws y GIG ynghylch yr oedi wrth ddarparu cofnodion electronig am gleifion, yn ogystal â phryder ynglŷn â chydnerthedd systemau craidd. Roeddem wedi gobeithio y byddai cyflymder y newid wedi cynyddu ers adroddiad yr archwilydd cyffredinol flwyddyn yn ôl. Fodd bynnag, nid felly y bu. Mewn gormod o achosion, mae'r GIG yn dal i ddibynnu ar gofnodion papur, trefn sydd wedi dyddio. Mae Gwasanaeth Gwybodeg GIG Cymru yn teimlo'n rhwystredig ynghylch diffyg cyfeiriad y GIG yn ehangach, ond gwelsom nad yw'r GIG yn cydnabod yn agored beth yw maint a dyfnder y broblem o hyd. Gall hyn fod yn arwydd o broblem ehangach bosibl, a allai ddatgelu rhagor o bethau a allai beri pryder nad ydynt yn amlwg eto. Yr hyn a ddaeth yn amlwg oedd diffyg tryloywder ar draws y system gyfan. Ymddengys bod rhai tystion yn yn amharod i gael eu cofnodi'n beirniadu'r cynnydd a wnaed, neu'r trefniadau sydd ar waith. Canfu'r archwilydd cyffredinol fod GGGC yn 'or-gadarnhaol' wrth adrodd ar gynnydd. Ddirprwy Lywydd, nid yw eu hagwedd hunanfodlon yn cyd-fynd â chanfyddiad y pwyllgor fod llawer o brosiectau digidol ar ei hôl hi, ac eraill ond ar amser am fod eu hamserlenni wedi'u haddasu i ddangos eu bod ar amser. Nid yw symud y pyst gôl yn datrys y broblem. Mae cyflymder mawr newid technolegol yn golygu y gallai'r oedi parhaus olygu bod y GIG yng Nghymru yn gweithredu ar systemau TG sydd wedi dyddio. Yn ogystal â chymeradwyo'n gryf yr argymhellion a wnaed eisoes gan yr archwilydd cyffredinol, mae'r adroddiad hwn yn gwneud pump argymhelliad. Rwy'n croesawu'r ffaith bod y pump argymhelliad wedi'u derbyn gan Lywodraeth Cymru, yn enwedig cais y pwyllgor i gael adroddiadau diweddaraf bob chwe mis gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar y cynnydd ar weithredu'r argymhellion digidol yn yr adolygiad seneddol ac adroddiad yr archwilydd cyffredinol. Mae hyn yn hanfodol os ydym i gyflymu cynnydd a darparu system TG sy'n addas at y diben ac yn sicrhau canlyniadau gwell i gleifion yng Nghymru. Roeddwn yn ddigon ffodus i gyfarfod â Dr Alice Groves yr wythnos diwethaf. Aeth i America gyda grŵp o feddygon a aeth ar ymweliad casglu ffeithiau yn arbennig er mwyn gweld y system wybodeg hon yn America, a thestun syndod i'r meddygon Americanaidd oedd clywed bod y GIG yng Nghymru yn dal i ddefnyddio peiriannau ffacs hen ffasiwn ac mewn rhai achosion, fod llawdriniaethau'n cael eu canslo yn theatrau llawdriniaethau GIG Cymru am nad oedd y ffeiliau ar gyfer y cleifion wedi cyrraedd y theatrau llawdriniaethau. Yr hyn a glywais gan Dr Groves oedd ein bod ymhell ar ei hôl hi yn y maes hwn yng ngwasanaeth y GIG yng Nghymru, ac y dylem ddilyn ychydig a dysgu rhywbeth gan wasanaeth iechyd yr Unol Daleithiau yng Nghymru hefyd. Diolch.