English: Self-proclaimed 'party of the NHS', Labour, is responsible for just seven health boards in Wales, and it is shocking that five of these are in special measures of some kind. The largest of these, serving around 1 million people, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales, will not be celebrating the fact that next Saturday it will be four years since it was placed into special measures. Ministerial oversight of these special measures arrangements have been with the current Minister. No Conservative Prime Minister has ever cut a NHS budget. Under Labour, however, Wales was the only UK nation to see a real-terms decrease in identifiable expenditure on health between 2010 and 2016. Betsi Cadwaladr entered special measures after horrific reports emanated from the Tawel Fan mental health ward. The Welsh Labour Government had failed to heed the warnings of the Ockenden - or has failed to heed the warnings of the Ockenden - review of this and consistently ignored the concerns of families involved. It may have met them - continued to ignore them. The Welsh Government instead relied on the 2018 Health and Social Care Advisory Service review, which was described by the families as a cover-up. In January, Donna Ockenden said she had seen insufficient progress in improving mental health services and revealed that staff had told her that services were going backwards. Her 2018 review was repeatedly informed that, from the health board's birth in October 2009, there was very significant cause for concern in the systems, structures and processes of governance underpinning a range of services provided by Betsi Cadwaladr. Speaking here in May last year, I asked the health Minister why the conclusions of the HASCAS report, commissioned by Betsi Cadwaladr, did not stack up with the findings of Donna Ockenden's 2015 report, which the Welsh Government had accepted, or with the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report, or dementia care mapping work, both in 2013, the year that the health board states that it was alerted to serious concerns regarding patient care on the Tawel Fan ward. In fact, I had highlighted concerns with them and the Welsh Government in 2009. While front-line staff are working incredibly hard, last month the Public Accounts Committee found that the Welsh Government's intervention with the board has had, quote, 'little practical impact'. The North Wales Community Health Council stated that it totally agreed with the report's recommendations and referred to a letter sent to the health Minister in which they stated there is a belief among its members that special measures is now the new normal and appears to have lost its impact. The Welsh Government's A&E target to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours, in place since 2008, has never been met. So, the latest figures show that Betsi Cadwaladr remains the worst-performing in Wales. Wrexham Maelor Hospital's A&E department only saw half of its patients within four hours. In January, the north Wales coroner, John Gittins, stated that ambulance hold-ups, staff shortages and the difficulty of getting speedy A&E care have contributed to numerous deaths and may claim more lives. Last month, a senior consultant, Ian Smith, told the coroner's inquest into the death of Megan Lloyd-Williams at Glan Clwyd Hospital that it was over two years since he had highlighted a gap in geriatric care and treatment at a similar hearing, but nothing had changed, despite assurances that improvements had been made. How familiar that rings. Following that inquest, the coroner gave the health board until the end of this year to make improvements to its orthopaedic care. In March, North Wales Community Health Council wrote to the Minister expressing their disappointment with the Welsh Government response to the NHS Wales GP performers list options paper, stating that the difficulties in north Wales had been present and increasing for at least five years. There is no question about if or whether the difficulties in recruitment and retention will continue. They added that the other ways tried by Betsi Cadwaladr to address the recruitment problem were, quote, 'not as successful as have been reported'. They're now working with community health councils across Wales to review experiences of people having to stay too long in hospital when they're well enough to leave. Is it any wonder, therefore, that this thin-skinned Labour Government is now seeking to replace community health councils with a centralised body that they can control? Only last month, the Royal College of Physicians stated that only 43 per cent of advertised consultant physician posts in north Wales were filled last year. The health Minister's repeated statements that he expects to see action - we've heard it today, we heard it four times yesterday - have become hollow. He needs to accept his responsibility for failing to deliver the required improvements at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and honourably resign.
Welsh: Mae Llafur, 'plaid y GIG' fel y mae'n galw ei hun, yn gyfrifol am saith bwrdd iechyd yn unig yng Nghymru, ac mae'n gywilyddus fod pump o'r rhain mewn mesurau arbennig o ryw fath. Ni fydd y mwyaf o'r rhain, sy'n gwasanaethu tua miliwn o bobl, sef Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr yng ngogledd Cymru, yn dathlu'r ffaith y bydd hi'n bedair blynedd ddydd Sadwrn nesaf ers iddo gael ei roi mewn mesurau arbennig. Y Gweinidog presennol sydd wedi bod â goruchwyliaeth ar y trefniadau mesurau arbennig hyn. Nid oes yr un Prif Weinidog Ceidwadol erioed wedi torri cyllideb y GIG. O dan Lafur, fodd bynnag, Cymru oedd yr unig wlad yn y DU i weld gostyngiad mewn termau real yn y gwariant adnabyddadwy ar iechyd rhwng 2010 a 2016. Gwnaed Betsi Cadwaladr yn destun mesurau arbennig wedi i adroddiadau erchyll ddod yn hysbys am ward iechyd meddwl Tawel Fan. Roedd Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru wedi methu gwrando ar rybuddion adolygiad Ockenden - neu mae wedi methu gwrando ar rybuddion adolygiad Ockenden ar hyn, ac yn gyson mae wedi anwybyddu pryderon y teuluoedd dan sylw. Efallai ei bod wedi cyfarfod â hwy - mae wedi parhau i'w hanwybyddu. Yn hytrach, dibynnai Llywodraeth Cymru ar adolygiad y Gwasanaeth Cynghori ar Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol 2018, a ddisgrifiwyd gan y teuluoedd fel ymgais i guddio'r gwir. Ym mis Ionawr, dywedodd Donna Ockenden nad oedd wedi gweld digon o gynnydd ar wella gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl a datgelodd fod staff wedi dweud wrthi fod gwasanaethau'n mynd tuag yn ôl. Cafodd ei hadolygiad yn 2018 glywed dro ar ôl tro, ers sefydlu'r bwrdd iechyd ym mis Hydref 2009, fod achos pryder sylweddol iawn ynghylch y systemau, y strwythurau a'r prosesau llywodraethu sy'n sail i ystod o wasanaethau a ddarperir gan Betsi Cadwaladr. Wrth siarad yma ym mis Mai y llynedd, gofynnais i'r Gweinidog iechyd pam nad oedd casgliadau adroddiad y Gwasanaeth Cynghori ar Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol, a gomisiynwyd gan Betsi Cadwaladr, yn cydfynd â chanfyddiadau adroddiad 2015 Donna Ockenden, adroddiad yr oedd Llywodraeth Cymru wedi'i dderbyn, neu gydag adroddiad Arolygiaeth Gofal Iechyd Cymru, neu waith mapio gofal dementia, ill dau yn 2013, y flwyddyn y mae'r bwrdd iechyd yn datgan iddo gael ei rybuddio am bryderon difrifol ynglŷn â gofal cleifion ar ward Tawel Fan. Yn wir, roeddwn wedi tynnu eu sylw hwy a Llywodraeth Cymru at bryderon yn 2009. Er bod staff y rheng flaen yn gweithio'n eithriadol o galed, y mis diwethaf canfu'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus fod ymyrraeth Llywodraeth Cymru yn y bwrdd heb gael 'fawr o effaith ymarferol'. Dywedodd Cyngor Iechyd Cymuned Gogledd Cymru ei fod yn cytuno'n llwyr ag argymhellion yr adroddiad a chyfeiriodd at lythyr a anfonwyd at y Gweinidog iechyd lle mae'n nodi bod ei aelodau'n credu bod y drefn mesurau arbennig bellach yn drefn arferol ac yn ymddangos fel pe bai wedi colli ei heffaith. Nid yw targed damweiniau ac achosion brys Llywodraeth Cymru i weld 95 y cant o gleifion o fewn pedair awr, sydd ar waith ers 2008, erioed wedi cael ei gyrraedd. Felly, mae'r ffigurau diweddaraf yn dangos mai Betsi Cadwaladr yw'r bwrdd sy'n perfformio waethaf yng Nghymru o hyd. Dim ond hanner ei gleifion a welwyd o fewn pedair awr gan adran damweiniau ac achosion brys Ysbyty Maelor Wrecsam. Ym mis Ionawr, dywedodd crwner gogledd Cymru, John Gittins, fod oedi yn y gwasanaeth ambiwlans, prinder staff a'r anhawster i sicrhau gofal damweiniau ac achosion brys yn gyflym wedi cyfrannu at farwolaethau niferus ac mae'n bosibl y gallai achosi mwy o farwolaethau. Y mis diwethaf, dywedodd meddyg ymgynghorol uwch, Ian Smith, wrth gwest y crwner i farwolaeth Megan Lloyd-Williams yn Ysbyty Glan Clwyd ei bod hi'n ddwy flynedd a mwy ers iddo dynnu sylw at fwlch mewn gofal a thriniaeth i'r henoed mewn gwrandawiad tebyg, ond nid oedd dim wedi newid, er cael sicrwydd fod gwelliannau wedi cael eu gwneud. Mae hynny'n swnio mor gyfarwydd. Yn dilyn y cwest hwnnw, rhoddodd y crwner tan ddiwedd y flwyddyn hon i'r bwrdd iechyd wneud gwelliannau i'w ofal orthopedig. Ym mis Mawrth, ysgrifennodd Cyngor Iechyd Cymuned Gogledd Cymru at y Gweinidog yn mynegi eu siom ynglŷn ag ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i bapur opsiynau ar restr perfformwyr meddygon teulu GIG Cymru, gan ddweud bod yr anawsterau yng ngogledd Cymru wedi bod yn bresennol ac yn cynyddu ers o leiaf bum mlynedd. Nid oes unrhyw amheuaeth na fydd yr anawsterau i recriwtio a chadw staff yn parhau. Ychwanegasant nad oedd y ffyrdd eraill y ceisiodd Betsi Cadwaladr eu defnyddio i fynd i'r afael â'r broblem recriwtio mor llwyddiannus ag yr adroddwyd. Bellach maent yn gweithio gyda chynghorau iechyd cymuned ledled Cymru i adolygu profiadau pobl sy'n gorfod aros yn rhy hir yn yr ysbyty pan fyddant yn ddigon iach i adael. A oes unrhyw syndod, felly, fod y Llywodraeth Lafur groendenau hon yn awr yn ceisio gosod corff canolog y gallant ei reoli yn lle cynghorau iechyd cymuned? Y mis diwethaf yn unig, dywedodd Coleg Brenhinol y Meddygon mai dim ond 43 y cant o swyddi meddygon ymgynghorol a hysbysebwyd yng ngogledd Cymru a gafodd eu llenwi y llynedd. Mae'r datganiadau a wnaeth y Gweinidog iechyd dro ar ôl tro ei fod yn disgwyl gweld gweithredu - fe'u clywsom heddiw, fe'u clywsom bedair gwaith ddoe - yn wag. Mae angen iddo dderbyn ei gyfrifoldeb am fethu cyflawni'r gwelliannau gofynnol ym Mwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr ac ymddiswyddo'n anrhydeddus.