Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called for appropriate level of funding for local councils to help ease pressures on hospital discharges.
Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister, was speaking in the Senedd following a statement by Jeremy Miles, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on the new 50-day challenge to improve hospital discharge and community care.
He said:
I certainly welcome your acknowledgement of the problems with hospital discharge and the challenges with community care being delivered.
It is fair to say that, across the board, pressures facing our NHS are systemic and long term. You will recognise the record waiting lists, which continue to rise, with patient pathways now north of 800,000. You’ll also recognise that 23.3% of the waits in Wales are a year or longer, with too many people languishing in pain for far too long.
It is right to recognise that, sadly, in some hospitals, 20% of beds are occupied by patients who either are waiting to leave or who need to leave, and it’s creating record levels of demand on our health and care services.
Ensuring that people who are ready for discharge aren’t taking up beds that are desperately needed is the big challenge, not just in Wales but across other health systems as well, and that needs to be acknowledged.
Mr Rowlands also spoke about the important role of local authorities in helping to unblock some of the existing issues in the system.
He added:
We know that councils are overstretched and under pressure, and I welcome the additional £10 million that you’ve announced here today. I’d be interested to know how much you think that is going to satisfy those funding challenges that councils have at the moment, so that they can adequately undertake the duties that are put upon them.
Because what we can’t see is a risk of a passing on of the buck of responsibility to our councils without the appropriate level of funding to enable them to deliver the things that are being asked of them.
The Cabinet Secretary said much of the balance of £9 million will end up supporting local authorities in their responsibilities for care, so GPs supporting care homes, enabling people to be discharged into community beds, so that healthcare assessments can happen outside the hospital.
Sam Rowlands AS yn tynnu sylw at broblemau parhaus gyda rhyddhau cleifion o’r ysbyty
Mae Sam Rowlands, Aelod o’r Senedd dros y Gogledd, wedi galw am lefel briodol o gyllid i gynghorau lleol er mwyn helpu i ysgafnhau'r pwysau o ran rhyddhau cleifion o ysbytai.
Roedd Mr Rowlands, Gweinidog Iechyd yr Wrthblaid dros y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig, yn siarad yn y Senedd yn dilyn datganiad gan Jeremy Miles, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol, ar yr her 50 diwrnod newydd i wella cyfraddau rhyddhau cleifion o'r ysbyty a gofal cymunedol.
Meddai:
Rwy'n sicr yn croesawu eich cydnabyddiaeth o'r problemau o ran rhyddhau cleifion o'r ysbyty a'r heriau o ran darparu gofal cymunedol hefyd.
Mae'n deg dweud, ar draws y bwrdd, bod y pwysau sy'n wynebu ein GIG yn systemig ac yn hirdymor. Byddwch chi'n cydnabod y rhestrau aros uchaf erioed, sy'n parhau i gynyddu, gyda mwy nag 800,000 o gleifion ar lwybrau gofal erbyn hyn. Byddwch chi hefyd yn cydnabod bod 23.3 y cant o'r arosiadau yng Nghymru yn flwyddyn neu fwy, ac rwy'n siŵr y byddech chi'n cydnabod bod gormod o bobl yn gwingo mewn poen am lawer rhy hir.
Mae'n iawn cydnabod, yn anffodus, mewn rhai ysbytai, bod 20 y cant o welyau yn cael eu meddiannu gan gleifion sydd naill ai'n aros i adael neu y mae angen iddyn nhw adael, ac mae'n creu'r lefelau uchaf erioed o alw ar ein gwasanaethau iechyd a gofal.
Sicrhau nad yw pobl sy'n barod i gael eu rhyddhau yn cymryd gwelyau y mae taer eu hangen yw'r her fawr, nid yn unig yng Nghymru ond ar draws systemau iechyd eraill hefyd, ac mae angen cydnabod hynny.
Soniodd Mr Rowlands hefyd am rôl bwysig awdurdodau lleol wrth helpu i ddatrys rhai o'r problemau presennol yn y system.
Ychwanegodd:
Rydyn ni'n gwybod bod cynghorau o dan bwysau mawr, ac rwy'n croesawu'r £10 miliwn ychwanegol rydych chi wedi'i gyhoeddi yma heddiw. Byddai gennyf ddiddordeb mewn gwybod i ba raddau, ydych chi'n meddwl, y bydd hynny'n bodloni'r heriau cyllido hynny sydd gan gynghorau ar hyn o bryd, fel y gallan nhw ymgymryd â'r dyletswyddau sy'n cael eu rhoi arnyn nhw yn ddigonol.
Oherwydd yr hyn na allwn ni ei weld yw risg y bydd y baich cyfrifoldeb yn cael ei drosglwyddo i'n cynghorau heb y lefel briodol o gyllid i'w galluogi i gyflawni'r pethau y gofynnir amdanynt.
Dywedodd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet y bydd llawer o'r balans o £9 miliwn yn y pen draw yn cefnogi awdurdodau lleol yn eu cyfrifoldebau am ofal, felly meddygon teulu yn cefnogi cartrefi gofal, gan alluogi pobl i gael eu rhyddhau i welyau cymunedol, fel y gellir cynnal asesiadau gofal iechyd y tu allan i'r ysbyty.
