English: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. This is our second report on the impact of COVID-19 on health and social care in Wales. It focused specifically on mental health and well-being. In addition to detailed recommendations, we reached one overarching conclusion, namely that it's more important now than ever that the Welsh Government makes the necessary improvements identified in our report of 2018 on suicide prevention and in the Children, Young People and Education Committee's report, namely 'Mind over matter'. COVID-19 has brought many challenges in terms of its physical effects, but also in its impact on people's mental and emotional well-being. Being cut off from your family, your friends and other support networks for long periods of time has had a profound effect. We know that more than half of adults and three quarters of young people feel that their mental health has worsened during the lockdown period. We are also extremely concerned about the well-being of care home residents, particularly those living with dementia. Significant harms are being caused by prolonged separation, with continued restrictions on care home visits. We understand the anxieties faced by care home managers, of course, but the risk of harm from coronavirus must be balanced against the risk to residents' health and well-being by prolonged separation from their loved ones. The pandemic has also had a profound effect on the wider determinants of mental health and well-being, including economic, societal, environmental and educational factors. It has exposed and magnified the inequalities in society. It will be a long time before the full extent of the impact of the pandemic on the nation's emotional and mental health is fully understood. However, it was clear that mental health services were under significant pressure prior to COVID-19, and demand for these services will only increase. People's needs will differ. The pandemic has exacerbated known risk factors for self-harm and suicide, such as loneliness, isolation, lack of belonging and lack of meaningful occupation. Some people with ongoing mental health conditions may have been unable to access their routine services for some time, and they will be in greater need now than ever before. Some people will have experienced bereavement during the pandemic or as a result of it. Losing a loved one is never easy, but to go through this at a time when you can't be with them at the end of their life and don't have access to friends and family for support will no doubt affect people's ability to come to terms with their loss. Other people who have never experienced mental health problems before may be affected by the population-level trauma that has occurred. Feelings of anxiety, sadness and loss, these are natural responses to a frightening situation and it's important not to over-medicalise them. However, appropriate support must be in place for everyone that needs it. This must cover the range of mental health needs, from low level, early intervention through to more specialist services and crisis care. It should also include quality and accessible bereavement services. The right services and support must also be in place for health, social care and other front-line staff, who have experienced increased workloads, staff shortages, workplace trauma and the loss of friends, colleagues and service users. Without support themselves, they risk becoming unwell due to stress or other mental health difficulties as a result of being physically and emotionally drained. Now, as a committee, we've repeatedly called for the need for parity between mental and physical health. Before the pandemic we were concerned that insufficient progress was being made in this regard, and we fear that COVID-19 will only set it back further. If parity is to be achieved, then mental health must be a key consideration in the Welsh Government's decision-making process and recovery planning. This will require a public health approach to mental health that promotes well-being, prevention and early intervention, and which spans Government departments and all sectors of society. We need to see improved joint working and a clear, shared understanding across Government and public services about the importance of public mental health, and a funding model that supports this. We thank the Minister for her response to our report as a committee. We welcome the fact that all our recommendations were accepted, either in full or in principle. However, as is often the case with Welsh Government responses, the narrative tells us what the Welsh Government is already doing, rather than addressing our specific recommendations. In response to our call for a written update on the implementation of our recommendations and those of the children's committee, the response says, and I quote: 'the Committee will understand that the implementation of the breadth of recommendations is a significant programme of work and needs to be balanced with the implementation of our responses to other related Committee reports and the commitments set out in the Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan. It should be recognised that the programme of work to deliver the improvements runs beyond this term.' That's the end of the quote. When it comes, the written update must address our specific recommendations. It must also provide detailed timescales so that we can get a clear sense of what's been achieved and what else needs doing and by when. We would urge in particular for the work of the task and finish group on suicide prevention data surveillance to be developed as an urgent priority. We recognise that these are difficult times and that implementing some of our recommendations is no small task, but we can't afford not to do this. It's been clear for some time what we need to do to improve mental health and well-being in Wales. We really must now make changes to avoid further unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths. Thank you very much.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Dyma ein hail adroddiad ar effaith COVID-19 ar iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol yng Nghymru. Mae'n canolbwyntio'n benodol ar iechyd meddwl a llesiant. Yn ogystal ag argymhellion manwl, daethom i un casgliad cyffredinol, sef mae'n bwysicach nawr nag erioed bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud y gwelliannau angenrheidiol a nodwyd yn ein hadroddiad yn 2018 ar atal hunanladdiad ac yn adroddiad y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg, sef 'Cadernid Meddwl'. Mae COVID-19 wedi achosi sawl her o ran ei effeithiau corfforol, ond hefyd o ran ei effaith ar lesiant meddyliol ac emosiynol pobl. Mae bod heb gyswllt efo'ch teulu, eich ffrindiau a rhwydweithiau cymorth eraill am gyfnodau hir o amser wedi cael effaith sylweddol. Rydym yn gwybod bod mwy na hanner yr oedolion a thri chwarter y bobl ifanc yn teimlo bod eu hiechyd meddwl wedi gwaethygu yn ystod cyfnod y cyfyngiadau symud. Rydym hefyd yn hynod bryderus am lesiant preswylwyr cartrefi gofal, yn enwedig y bobl sydd efo dementia. Mae niwed sylweddol yn cael ei achosi gan fod ar wahân am gyfnodau hir yn sgîl y cyfyngiadau parhaus ar ymweliadau efo chartrefi gofal. Rydym yn deall y pryderon sy'n wynebu rheolwyr cartrefi gofal, wrth gwrs, ond rhaid cydbwyso'r risg o niwed yn sgîl y coronafeirws â'r risg i iechyd a llesiant preswylwyr sy'n deillio o fod ar wahân oddi wrth eu hanwyliaid am gyfnod mor hir. Mae'r pandemig hefyd wedi cael effaith ddwys ar benderfynyddion ehangach iechyd meddwl a llesiant, gan gynnwys ffactorau economaidd, ffactorau cymdeithasol, ffactorau amgylcheddol a ffactorau addysgol. Mae wedi amlygu a dwysáu'r anghydraddoldebau mewn cymdeithas. Bydd llawer o amser yn mynd heibio cyn y deallir effaith lawn y pandemig ar iechyd meddwl ac iechyd emosiynol y genedl. Roedd yn amlwg bod gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl o dan bwysau sylweddol cyn COVID-19 hyd yn oed, a dim ond cynyddu a wnaiff y galw hwnnw. Bydd anghenion pobl yn wahanol. Mae'r pandemig wedi gwaethygu'r ffactorau risg sy'n hysbys ar gyfer hunanladdiad a hunan-niweidio, fel unigrwydd, unigedd, diffyg ymdeimlad o berthyn a diffyg galwedigaeth ystyrlon. Efallai na fydd rhai pobl sydd â chyflyrau iechyd meddwl parhaus wedi gallu cael gafael ar eu gwasanaethau arferol ers cryn amser, a bydd mwy o angen arnyn nhw nawr nag erioed o'r blaen. Bydd rhai pobl wedi cael profedigaethau yn ystod y pandemig, neu o ganlyniad iddo. Nid yw colli anwyliaid byth yn hawdd, ond mae'n siŵr bod mynd drwy hyn ar adeg pan na allwch fod gyda nhw ar ddiwedd eu hoes, ac nad oes modd bod yng nghwmni teulu a ffrindiau i gael cefnogaeth, yn effeithio ar allu pobl i ddygymod efo'u colled. Efallai yr effeithir ar bobl eraill nad ydynt erioed wedi cael problemau iechyd meddwl o'r blaen gan y trawma ar lefel y boblogaeth yn gyffredinol. Teimladau o bryder, tristwch a cholled, mae'r rhain yn ymatebion naturiol i sefyllfa frawychus ac mae'n bwysig peidio â'u hystyried yn or-feddygol. Rhaid bod cefnogaeth briodol, fodd bynnag, ar gael i bawb sydd ei hangen. Rhaid i hyn gwmpasu'r amrywiaeth o anghenion iechyd meddwl, o gymorth lefel isel i gymorth ymyrraeth gynnar, i wasanaethau mwy arbenigol a gofal mewn argyfwng. Dylai hefyd gynnwys gwasanaethau hygyrch o ansawdd da mewn profedigaeth. Rhaid i'r gwasanaeth a'r gefnogaeth gywir hefyd fod ar waith ar gyfer staff iechyd, gofal cymdeithasol a staff rheng flaen eraill sydd wedi gweld llwyth gwaith cynyddol, prinder staff, trawma yn y gweithle a cholli ffrindiau, cydweithwyr a defnyddwyr gwasanaethau. Heb gefnogaeth eu hunain, maent mewn perygl o fynd yn sâl oherwydd straen neu anawsterau iechyd meddwl eraill o ganlyniad i gael eu llethu'n gorfforol neu yn emosiynol. Nawr, fel pwyllgor, rydym wedi tynnu sylw dro ar ôl tro at yr angen am gydraddoldeb rhwng iechyd meddwl ac iechyd corfforol. Cyn y pandemig roeddem yn pryderu nad oedd cynnydd digonol yn cael ei wneud yn hyn o beth, ac rydym yn ofni na fydd COVID-19 ond yn ei rwystro ymhellach. Os ydym am sicrhau cydraddoldeb, rhaid i iechyd meddwl fod yn ystyriaeth allweddol wrth i Lywodraeth Cymru wneud penderfyniadau a chynllunio ar gyfer adferiad. Mae hyn yn gofyn am ddull ar sail iechyd cyhoeddus o ymdrin ag iechyd meddwl sy'n ymwneud â hyrwyddo llesiant, atal salwch meddwl ac ymyrraeth gynnar, ac sy'n rhychwantu adrannau'r Llywodraeth a phob sector o'r gymdeithas. Mae angen inni weld cydweithio gwell a chyd-ddealltwriaeth glir ar draws y Llywodraeth a gwasanaethau cyhoeddus ynghylch pwysigrwydd iechyd meddwl y cyhoedd a model cyllido sy'n cefnogi hyn. Rydyn ni'n diolch i'r Gweinidog am ei hymateb i'n hadroddiad ni fel pwyllgor. Rydyn ni'n croesawu'r ffaith bod ein holl argymhellion wedi'u derbyn, naill ai'n llawn neu mewn egwyddor. Fodd bynnag, fel sy'n digwydd yn aml gydag ymatebion Llywodraeth Cymru, mae'r naratif yn dweud wrthym beth mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud eisoes yn hytrach na mynd i'r afael â'n hargymhellion penodol. Mewn ymateb i'n galwad am ddiweddariad ysgrifenedig ar weithredu ein hargymhellion ac argymhellion y pwyllgor plant, dywed yr ymateb, a dwi'n dyfynnu: 'bydd y Pwyllgor yn deall bod gweithredu'r argymhellion eang yn rhaglen waith sylweddol, a bod angen cydbwyso hynny â gweithredu ein hymatebion i adroddiadau cysylltiedig eraill y Pwyllgor a'r ymrwymiadau a nodir yn Law yn Llaw at Iechyd Meddwl - Cynllun Cyflawni. Dylid cydnabod bod y rhaglen waith i gyflawni'r gwelliannau yn mynd y tu hwnt i'r tymor hwn.' Diwedd y dyfynnu. Pan ddaw, rhaid i'r diweddariad ysgrifenedig fynd i'r afael â'n hargymhellion penodol. Rhaid iddo hefyd ddarparu amserlenni manwl fel y gallwn gael ymdeimlad clir o'r hyn a gyflawnwyd a beth arall sydd angen ei wneud, ac erbyn pryd. Byddem yn annog yn benodol i waith y grŵp gorchwyl a gorffen ar gadw golwg ar ddata atal hunanladdiad gael ei ddatblygu fel blaenoriaeth frys. Rydym yn cydnabod bod y rhain yn amseroedd anodd iawn, ac nad tasg fach yw gweithredu rhai o'n hargymhellion, ond ni allwn fforddio peidio â gwneud hyn. Mae wedi bod yn amlwg ers amser maith beth sydd angen inni ei wneud i wella iechyd meddwl a llesiant yng Nghymru. Mae'n rhaid i ni nawr wneud newidiadau er mwyn osgoi rhagor o ddioddefaint a marwolaethau diangen y gall fod modd eu hatal. Diolch yn fawr.