English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. So, thank you for the opportunity to hold a debate on this petition today. This petition was submitted by Laura Williams, having collected 5,159 signatures. It calls for increased funding for mental health services and improvements to crisis care, and follows a previous petition that Laura submitted to our committee, which also sought to improve access to mental health support. The Petitions Committee published a report on that previous petition in 2019. In it, we made a number of recommendations to the Welsh Government, particularly aimed at improving referral pathways and timely access to crisis support. In submitting the petition before us today, Laura has expressed her view that not enough genuine progress has been made in improving access to mental health services since that time. She is especially concerned about the impact that the pandemic and lockdowns have had on people's mental health and well-being and the ability of services to respond to people's needs in a timely manner. Now, these concerns are not a new issue for this Senedd and, as we heard during a debate last week, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has recently published its own report into the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and well-being. So, I believe that Laura, and the thousands of people who supported her petition, would endorse the recommendations that the health committee has made in light of the detailed evidence that they have taken during their inquiries. However, during the remainder of my contribution this afternoon, I will focus on several specific issues that the petition asks us to consider. Before I do so, I want to briefly note that the Petitions Committee has not yet received a response to this petition from the Government, though we did request one in late November. Nor is this the first time that this has been the case in relation to a petition about mental health services. You can imagine how disappointed we as a committee feel. No doubt, the petitioners will feel the same. The committee recognises, of course, the challenges that have faced the Welsh Government over the last year, and the need for resources to be prioritised. However, I do think that it is important that I note the challenge to us in properly scrutinising the Government and providing an adequate response to members of the public who do submit petitions if responses are not forthcoming in a reasonable time period. Moving on to the specific requests made by this petition, Laura has highlighted her concern about the impact that COVID-19 has had on people's mental health, particularly through the impact of lockdowns and social isolation. She remains concerned about the availability of appropriate services to people who need them, especially the extent to which these are provided in a timely way to people at times of crisis. A recent experience that Laura relayed through her comments to the Petitions Committee raised concerns regarding a lack of available services, referral or follow-up when mental health concerns were raised during a visit to an accident and emergency department. The petition also refers to waiting times for treatment and therapy, and what Laura sees as a need to improve the capacity of services to respond to the demand that exists within our communities. As we all know, these are long-standing concerns about the capacity constraints that there are within mental health services here in Wales, but they have perhaps been bought into even sharper focus by the circumstances of the past 12 months. Services that were oversubscribed in many cases previously have seen the numbers of patients increasing, just as their ability to provide services, particularly face-to-face, has become more restricted than ever. Mind Cymru has noted its own concerns about access to mental health support, stating that last summer nearly a quarter of people had reported being unable to access the support they need. And last week, when introducing the health committee's debate on this subject, our colleague Dai Lloyd MS noted that more than half of adults and three quarters of young people feel that their mental health has worsened during this lockdown period. I believe that this is an issue that we must all be seeking to address as a priority. As Wales, we hope we can continue to emerge from this pandemic, but we must do all that we can to avoid a further mental health pandemic in future. To conclude, Deputy Presiding Officer, mental health has been the subject of a great deal of work and discussion throughout this Senedd. It has certainly been a regular theme of petitions referred to our committee over that time. That highlights both the fact that many of the members of the public consider that more could and should be done, as well as the importance of getting services right, a point I think we can all agree is particularly important right now. Thank you very much. Diolch.
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Felly, diolch am y cyfle i gynnal dadl ar y ddeiseb hon heddiw. Cyflwynwyd y ddeiseb gan Laura Williams, ar ôl casglu 5,159 o lofnodion. Mae'n galw am fwy o gyllid ar gyfer gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl a gwelliannau i ofal mewn argyfwng, ac mae'n dilyn deiseb flaenorol a gyflwynodd Laura i'n pwyllgor, a oedd hefyd yn ceisio gwella mynediad at gymorth iechyd meddwl. Cyhoeddodd y Pwyllgor Deisebau adroddiad ar y ddeiseb flaenorol honno yn 2019. Ynddo, gwnaethom nifer o argymhellion i Lywodraeth Cymru, gyda'r nod yn arbennig o wella llwybrau atgyfeirio a mynediad amserol at gymorth mewn argyfwng. Wrth gyflwyno'r ddeiseb sydd ger ein bron heddiw, mae Laura wedi mynegi ei barn nad oes digon o gynnydd go iawn wedi'i wneud ar wella mynediad at wasanaethau iechyd meddwl ers yr adeg honno. Mae'n pryderu'n arbennig am yr effaith y mae'r pandemig a'r cyfyngiadau symud wedi'i chael ar iechyd meddwl a llesiant pobl a gallu gwasanaethau i ymateb i anghenion pobl mewn modd amserol. Nawr, nid yw'r pryderon hyn yn fater newydd i'r Senedd hon ac fel y clywsom yn ystod dadl yr wythnos diwethaf, mae'r Pwyllgor Iechyd, Gofal Cymdeithasol a Chwaraeon wedi cyhoeddi ei adroddiad ei hun yn ddiweddar ar effaith yr argyfwng COVID-19 ar iechyd meddwl a llesiant. Felly, credaf y byddai Laura, a'r miloedd o bobl a gefnogodd ei deiseb, yn cymeradwyo'r argymhellion y mae'r pwyllgor iechyd wedi'u gwneud yng ngoleuni'r dystiolaeth fanwl y maent wedi'i chael yn ystod eu hymchwiliadau. Fodd bynnag, yng ngweddill fy nghyfraniad y prynhawn yma, byddaf yn canolbwyntio ar nifer o faterion penodol y mae'r ddeiseb yn gofyn inni eu hystyried. Cyn imi wneud hynny, hoffwn nodi'n fyr nad yw'r Pwyllgor Deisebau wedi cael ymateb i'r ddeiseb hon gan y Llywodraeth hyd yma, er inni ofyn am un ddiwedd mis Tachwedd. Nid dyma'r tro cyntaf i hyn ddigwydd mewn perthynas â deiseb am wasanaethau iechyd meddwl. Gallwch ddychmygu'r siom rydym ni fel pwyllgor yn ei deimlo. Mae'n siŵr y bydd y deisebwyr yn teimlo'r un fath. Mae'r pwyllgor yn cydnabod yr heriau sydd wedi wynebu Llywodraeth Cymru dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf wrth gwrs, a'r angen i flaenoriaethu adnoddau. Fodd bynnag, credaf ei bod yn bwysig fy mod yn nodi'r her wrth inni geisio craffu'n briodol ar y Llywodraeth a darparu ymateb digonol i aelodau o'r cyhoedd sy'n cyflwyno deisebau os na ddaw ymatebion i law mewn cyfnod rhesymol o amser. Gan symud ymlaen at alwadau penodol y ddeiseb hon, mae Laura wedi tynnu sylw at ei phryder am yr effaith y mae COVID-19 wedi ei chael ar iechyd meddwl pobl, yn enwedig drwy effaith cyfyngiadau symud ac arwahanrwydd cymdeithasol. Mae'n dal i bryderu ynghylch argaeledd gwasanaethau priodol i bobl sydd eu hangen, yn enwedig y graddau y darperir y rhain mewn modd amserol i bobl ar adegau o argyfwng. Roedd profiad diweddar a nododd Laura drwy ei sylwadau i'r Pwyllgor Deisebau yn codi pryderon ynghylch diffyg gwasanaethau, atgyfeirio neu ddilyniant pan gafodd pryderon iechyd meddwl eu crybwyll yn ystod ymweliad ag adran damweiniau ac achosion brys. Mae'r ddeiseb hefyd yn cyfeirio at amseroedd aros am driniaeth a therapi, a'r hyn y mae Laura yn ei weld fel angen i wella gallu gwasanaethau i ymateb i'r galw sy'n bodoli yn ein cymunedau. Fel y gwyddom i gyd, mae'r rhain yn bryderon hirsefydlog ynglŷn â'r cyfyngiadau ar gapasiti o fewn gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl yma yng Nghymru, ond efallai bod mwy byth o ffocws arnynt yn sgil amgylchiadau'r 12 mis diwethaf. Mae gwasanaethau lle'r oedd mwy o alw amdanynt na'r gallu i'w ddiwallu mewn llawer o achosion o'r blaen wedi gweld nifer y cleifion yn cynyddu, yn union fel y mae eu gallu i ddarparu gwasanaethau, yn enwedig rhai wyneb yn wyneb, wedi dod yn fwy cyfyngedig nag erioed. Mae Mind Cymru wedi nodi eu pryderon eu hunain ynghylch mynediad at gymorth iechyd meddwl, gan ddweud bod bron i chwarter y bobl yr haf diwethaf wedi dweud nad oeddent yn gallu cael gafael ar y cymorth sydd ei angen arnynt. A'r wythnos diwethaf, wrth gyflwyno dadl y pwyllgor iechyd ar y pwnc hwn, nododd ein cyd-Aelod Dai Lloyd AS fod mwy na hanner yr oedolion a thri chwarter y bobl ifanc yn teimlo bod eu hiechyd meddwl wedi gwaethygu yn ystod y cyfnod hwn o gyfyngiadau symud. Credaf fod hwn yn fater y mae'n rhaid i bob un ohonom geisio mynd i'r afael ag ef fel blaenoriaeth. Yng Nghymru, gobeithiwn y gallwn barhau i gefnu ar y pandemig hwn, ond rhaid inni wneud popeth yn ein gallu i osgoi pandemig iechyd meddwl pellach yn y dyfodol. I gloi, Ddirprwy Lywydd, mae iechyd meddwl wedi bod yn destun llawer iawn o waith a thrafodaeth drwy gydol y Senedd hon. Mae'n sicr wedi bod yn thema reolaidd mewn deisebau a gyfeiriwyd at ein pwyllgor dros y cyfnod hwnnw. Mae hynny'n amlygu'r ffaith bod llawer o'r cyhoedd o'r farn y gellid ac y dylid gwneud mwy, yn ogystal â phwysigrwydd cael gwasanaethau'n iawn, pwynt y credaf y gallwn i gyd gytuno ei fod yn arbennig o bwysig yn awr. Diolch yn fawr iawn.