Rwyf am ffocysu fy sylwadau i ar wasanaethau i blant a phobl ifanc. Wrth gwrs, ni allwn ni sôn am wella gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl i blant a phobl ifanc heb sôn am amserau aros CAMHS. Rydym yn gwybod eu bod nhw’n dal yn llawer rhy hir a heb eu hadfer i lefelau 2013, heb sôn am wireddu’r gwelliant rwy’n gwybod y mae pob un ohonom ni yn awyddus i’w weld yn digwydd. Mae amserau aros hefyd, wrth gwrs, yn bwysig o ran canlyniadau. Mae arolwg Gofal o ddefnyddwyr gwasanaethau iechyd meddwl wedi dangos bod yna gyd-berthynas glir rhwng amserau aros hir am driniaeth a’r tebygrwydd na fydd rhywun yn dweud bod eu hiechyd meddwl a llesiant wedi gwella. Ond, wrth gwrs, un mater yw rhestrau aros.

It’s just the tip of the iceberg. Waiting times are just the tip of the iceberg—it’s one aspect. Depression, anxiety and self-harm have become too common amongst a generation that have many worries about things like cyber bullying, pressure to fit an ideal body weight and, also of course, being handed a future of zero-hours contracts, massive students debts and endless austerity from a generation of politicians, let’s be honest, who faced none of those in their day. We all know that investment in early years is crucial for positive outcomes in terms of education and health, and in particular in preventing some of the problems that can arise later on in life.

Developments in neuroscience are also showing that the teenage years can be just as crucial for a person’s development as the early years. The rates of mental health problems rise steeply in mid-to-late adolescence. For adolescents aged 11 to 16 years, the rate of mental health problems is 13 per cent for boys and 10 per cent for girls. This figure approaches adult rates of around 23 per cent—a quarter—by the age of 18 to 20 years. We know also that 70 per cent of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems haven’t had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age—wholly unacceptable.

Whilst the Welsh Government have made a great deal about the launch of—or relaunch, maybe, of Healthy Child Wales for children up to the age of seven, there is, of course, no strategy for improving the health of teenagers, but the need for one is clear. The mortality rate for teenagers between 15 and 19 years old is higher in Wales than it is in England, and there’s been no reduction in deaths from intentional injury among the age group between 10 and 18 years old in three decades.

There’s also a need, of course, for supporting children who have adults with mental health problems in their lives. Looking after a family member with a mental health problem can lead to significant impacts on the carer’s own mental health, and of course that’s another reason why I’m sure we all agree that carers need better support.

So, what can we do? Well, schools clearly have a key role to play here and we need a whole-school approach towards promoting mental health and well-being. Pupils need to be taught about potential mental health problems that can happen and steps that can be taken to maintain good health. We need more proactive lessons, particularly aimed at girls in relation to having a healthy body image—but not just girls, boys as well are not to feel pressure to conform to unrealistic body images. Healthy relationships education also needs to happen and there’s much more, of course, that could be done.

I would like, as I come to the end of my contribution, to refer to the situation particularly in north Wales.

Rwyf eisiau sôn yn benodol am y sefyllfa yng ngogledd Cymru fel y mae hi heddiw. Y realiti yw bod bwrdd iechyd Betsi Cadwaladr yn wynebu £106 miliwn o ddyled erbyn diwedd y tair blynedd ariannol yma. Ac mae disgwyl, wrth gwrs, iddyn nhw wneud yn iawn am y ddyled yna. Ond mi fyddai torri £106 miliwn yn golygu rhyw 10 y cant yn llai o wariant y flwyddyn nesaf. Ac mae’n rhaid i mi ddweud bod cofnodion diweddara’r bwrdd yn datgelu bod 27 o reolwyr cyllid wedi gwrthod cytuno i doriadau yn eu cyllidebau, a fan hyn mae’r glec, wrth gwrs—mae’r mwyafrif o’r rheini yn gweithio ym maes iechyd meddwl, a hefyd nifer ym maes anableddau dysgu. Felly, mae’r toriadau mae Betsi Cadwaladr—bwrdd iechyd mwyaf Cymru, wrth gwrs, bwrdd sydd o dan fesurau arbennig hefyd, wrth gwrs—. Mae’r toriadau yna yn golygu y bydd y gwasanaeth pwysig yma yn dod o dan hyd yn oed mwy o bwysau yn y cyfnod sydd i ddod. Mae nifer eisoes yn cwyno ei fod e yn wasanaeth sinderela—wel, gyda’r esgid yn amlwg yn mynd i wasgu yn waeth dros y misoedd nesaf, mae e yn destun gofid pellach rwy’n siŵr i ni gyd, ac mi fyddwn i’n awyddus i glywed ymateb Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet i’r sefyllfa benodol yna yng ngogledd Cymru yn ei ymateb ef i’r ddadl hon.