Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has expressed concern over the length of time children are waiting for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments.
Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Rowlands said:
Cabinet Secretary, you will be aware that recent reports have shown that, by 2027, the number of children who will be seeking autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments could triple to around 61,000.
We already know, the pressures that those assessment services are under, and in my region of North Wales I'm aware that children are now having to wait up to five years for that assessment to take place.
In a child's lifetime, five years is a huge length of time. That's clearly having an impact on their educational attainment and the appropriate services to support them through their childhood.
Could you just briefly outline why you think that, in a place like North Wales, children are having to wait that length of time, and why you think that the pressure on assessments is not being met currently. I know that there's a £3 million additional fund that the Welsh Government made available to support this, and do you think that's enough to deal with this additional pressure that the service is seeing?
Jeremy Miles, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care said that he did not think that the £3 million intervention to tackle the longest waits was sufficient on its own and they needed to put the service on a different footing in the longer term to solve being able to see people more quickly.
Mr Rowlands added:
I still remain extremely concerned with the length of time these assessments are taking and the toll it places on parents as well as the children. It is clearly time that the Welsh Government started coming up with faster solutions.
Sam Rowlands AS yn poeni am ddiffyg arian ar gyfer asesiadau iechyd i blant
Mae Sam Rowlands, AS Gogledd Cymru, wedi mynegi pryder am faint o amser mae plant yn aros am asesiadau o awtistiaeth ac anhwylder diffyg canolbwyntio a gorfywiogrwydd (ADHD).
Wrth siarad yn y Senedd, dywedodd Mr Rowlands:
Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, fe fyddwch chi'n ymwybodol fod adroddiadau diweddar wedi dangos, erbyn 2027, y gallai nifer y plant a fydd yn ceisio asesiadau awtistiaeth ac anhwylder diffyg canolbwyntio a gorfywiogrwydd dreblu i oddeutu 61,000
Rydym eisoes yn gwybod am y pwysau sydd ar y gwasanaethau asesu hynny, ac yn fy rhanbarth i yng ngogledd Cymru, rwy'n ymwybodol fod plant bellach yn gorfod aros hyd at bum mlynedd am yr asesiad hwnnw.
Ym mywyd plentyn, mae pum mlynedd yn gyfnod hirfaith. Mae hynny'n amlwg yn cael effaith ar eu cyrhaeddiad addysgol a'r gwasanaethau priodol i'w cefnogi drwy eu plentyndod.
Tybed a allech chi amlinellu’n fyr pam y credwch chi, mewn lle fel gogledd Cymru, fod plant yn gorfod aros cyhyd, a pham y credwch nad yw’r pwysau ar asesiadau'n cael ei ddiwallu ar hyn o bryd. Gwn fod cronfa ychwanegol o £3 miliwn a ddarparwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru i gefnogi hyn, ac a ydych chi'n credu bod hynny'n ddigon i leddfu'r pwysau ychwanegol hwn y mae'r gwasanaeth yn ei wynebu?
Dywedodd Jeremy Miles, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol nad oedd yn credu bod yr ymyrraeth o £3 miliwn i fynd i'r afael â'r arosiadau hiraf yn ddigonol ar ei ben ei hun a bod angen rhoi'r gwasanaeth ar drywydd gwahanol yn y tymor hwy er mwyn gallu gweld pobl yn gyflymach.
Ychwanegodd Mr Rowlands:
Rwy'n dal i bryderu'n fawr am faint o amser mae'r asesiadau hyn yn ei gymryd a'r straen mae'n ei roi ar rieni yn ogystal ag ar blant. Mae'n hen bryd i Lywodraeth Cymru ddechrau cynnig atebion cyflymach.
