Message from Jan and Kate

Published: 2 February 2021/Cyhoeddwyd: 2 Chwefror 2021

Cymraeg/English

Neges gan Jan a Kate

Wel, dyna ddechrau i 2021! Ni ddangosodd y cyflymder prysur ar ddiwedd 2020 unrhyw arwyddion o arafu yn ystod mis Ionawr a pharhaodd Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru â'i rôl arweinyddiaeth systemau yn y rheng flaen o ran diogelu iechyd a llesiant pobl Cymru. 

Ar ddechrau mis Ionawr, canfu ein tîm feiroleg yn Abertawe broblem bosibl gyda rhai swabiau sy'n cael eu defnyddio ledled y DU; arweiniodd rhywfaint o waith ditectif trawiadol at rybudd i lywodraethau'r DU a gwnaeth hyn sicrhau datrysiad. Roedd y tîm hefyd wedi cadw canlyniadau profion COVID-19 i lifo'n ddi-dor. Cawsom ein cyfareddu o glywed am yr ymchwiliad cadarn, seiliedig ar dystiolaeth a gynhaliwyd i nodi a mynd i'r afael â'r broblem ac rydym yn falch o feddwl, heb ein staff dawnus, ymroddedig ac angerddol, y gallai'r broblem hon fod wedi parhau heb ei darganfod. Roeddem wrth ein bodd bod y Gweinidog Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol yn cydnabod diwydrwydd y tîm yn ei ddatganiad ar y pwnc. 

Yr wythnos diwethaf, roedd yr arbenigedd a'r wybodaeth flaengar sydd gennym ymhlith staff Iechyd Cyhoeddus Cymru yn amlwg eto, y tro hwn wrth fynd i ddau o bwyllgorau Senedd Cymru. Yn gyntaf, rhoddodd Mark Bellis, Tracey Cooper a Sumina Azam dystiolaeth i'r Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus ar y rhwystrau i weithredu Deddf Llesiant Cenedlaethau'r Dyfodol (Cymru) 2015 yn llwyddiannus.

Yn ail, ddydd Mercher 27 Ionawr, rhoddodd Tracey, ynghyd â Giri Shankar a Robin Howe, dystiolaeth ar y pandemig i'r Pwyllgor Iechyd, Gofal Cymdeithasol a Chwaraeon. Dyma oedd y pedwerydd tro i ni roi tystiolaeth yn y Pwyllgor ar COVID-19 ac roedd y cwestiynau'n canolbwyntio ar amrywiaeth o faterion: effeithiolrwydd y cyfnod atal byr, ymddangosiad amrywiolynnau newydd a'r goblygiadau ar gyfer yr ymateb, y rhaglen frechu a'r capasiti profi.

Wrth wylio'r ddau bwyllgor, roedd yn amlwg bod yr aelodau'n gwerthfawrogi'r cyfle i glywed gan ein harbenigwyr awdurdodol a soniodd y ddau Gadeirydd am ansawdd y cyflwyniadau ysgrifenedig. Fel arfer, Sian Bolton oedd wedi cydlynu'r dystiolaeth ysgrifenedig honno, i'r safonau uchaf. Gallwch ddarllen y ddau gyflwyniad ysgrifenedig yn https://senedd.cymru/busnes-y-senedd/pwyllgorau/;

Yng nghyfarfod y Bwrdd yr wythnos diwethaf, clywsom gan Dr Richard Roberts, Cyfarwyddwr y Rhaglen Frechu yn erbyn Clefydau Ataliadwy. Rhoddodd gyflwyniad manwl ar raglen frechu Covid-19, gan roi'r diweddaraf i'r Bwrdd am y broses gymeradwyo ar gyfer y ddau frechlyn sy'n cael eu defnyddio ar hyn o bryd yn y DU, grwpiau blaenoriaethu'r Cyd-bwyllgor ar Imiwneiddio a Brechu (JCVI) a'r cynnydd o ran cyflwyno'r brechlynnau.  Esboniodd Richard sut y byddai'r rhaglen, a'r data a gasglwyd drwy waith goruchwylio, yn cynorthwyo wrth sicrhau bod y rhai a oedd yn wynebu'r risg fwyaf, gan gynnwys y rhai o gefndiroedd Du, Asiaidd a Lleiafrifoedd Ethnig, yn cael cefnogaeth dda wrth gael mynediad i'r brechlyn. Byddai hyn yn sicrhau mynediad teg, gan fynd i’r afael ag unrhyw rwystrau penodol y gallai unigolion neu grwpiau eu hwynebu. Mynegwyd ein diolch i Richard am bopeth y mae tîm y rhaglen yn ei wneud yn y rhaglen frechu hollbwysig hon.

O dan ddiweddariad y Prif Weithredwr gan Tracey, trafododd y Bwrdd adeiladu momentwm o ran mynd i'r afael â niwed ehangach COVID-19; nododd y Cynllun Gweithredol dair blaenoriaeth - effaith diweithdra, iechyd meddwl a llesiant a grwpiau agored i niwed fel rhan o'r ffrwd waith iechyd y boblogaeth. Fel Bwrdd, cydnabuom yr heriau o ran adnoddau sy'n ymwneud â hyn, gan fod yn rhaid i ni barhau i roi blaenoriaeth i'r ymateb diogelu iechyd. Roeddem yn cydnabod mor bwysig fyddai'r agenda niwed ehangach yn y flwyddyn i ddod a chytunodd y Bwrdd i ganolbwyntio ar baratoi ar gyfer cefnogi hyn. 

Roedd y Dangosfwrdd Sicrwydd Perfformiad (PAD) yn cynnwys 'teils' newydd eto y mis hwn, ac roedd Alex Lewis wrth law i'n harwain drwy'r adroddiad perfformiad, gan godi'r ‘teils’ penodol yn ystod y drafodaeth. Gwnaethom sylwadau penodol ar berfformiad yr Adran Sgrinio o ran cynnal lefelau mynediad i raglenni sgrinio, pan oedd y system gyfan o dan gymaint o bwysau, a rhoddwyd llongyfarchiadau i Sharon Hillier a'r tîm ar hyn.

Gwnaethom gymryd yr adroddiad blynyddol ar y bwlch cyflog rhwng y rhywiau, yn unol â'n dyletswydd statudol i gyhoeddi'r manylion. Nododd y Bwrdd fod gennym waith i'w wneud o amgylch hyn, fel rhan o'n hagenda ehangach ar amrywiaeth a chynhwysiant; gwnaethom ymrwymo i gefnogi'r cynlluniau gweithredu sy'n cael eu datblygu yn hyn o beth a gofynnwyd i'r Grŵp Pobl a Chynghori oruchwylio'r cynlluniau, gan adrodd ar gynnydd i'r Bwrdd llawn. Cawsom gyfle hefyd i longyfarch Sarah Morgan a'i thîm ar yr amrywiaeth eang o faterion yn wythnos Amrywiaeth a Chynhwysiant y mis hwn.

Fel arfer, mae'r Bwrdd yn cymryd diddordeb brwd mewn iechyd a llesiant staff a threuliwyd peth amser yn trafod y mesurau sydd ar waith i'ch cefnogi i gyd. Diolch i bawb a rannodd eu meddyliau, drwy'r holiaduron llesiant a thrwy'r Grŵp Llesiant a Phartneriaeth, am yr hyn a oedd yn mynd yn dda, i helpu i lywio'r ffordd orau o roi cymorth yn ystod y cyfnod heriol hwn.

Gwyddom ei fod yn beth anodd iawn i ofyn i chi i gyd, gan eich bod wedi bod yn gweithio'n ddiflino ar yr ymateb i COVID-19 am flwyddyn, a does dim llacio hyd yma. Mae'r ffaith eich bod yn dal ati, o ddydd i ddydd, i helpu i gadw pobl Cymru'n ddiogel yn wefreiddiol i ni. Rydym wedi dweud o'r blaen bod gan y boblogaeth ddyled fawr o ddiolchgarwch i chi, ac mae hynny'n dal yn wir. Rydych i gyd yn eithriadol ac mae eich ymrwymiad i wasanaeth cyhoeddus yn arbennig. Cadwch eich hunain yn ddiogel ac yn iach, a chymerwch ofal. 

Jan a Kate 

Message from Jan and Kate

Well, what a start to 2021! The hectic pace at the end of 2020 showed no signs of slowing during January and Public Health Wales continued its system leadership role at the forefront of protecting the health and well-being of the people of Wales.

Early in January, our virology team in Swansea detected a potential problem with some swabs being used across the UK; some really impressive detective work resulted in an alert to the UK governments and this brought about a resolution. The team also kept COVID-19 tests results flowing uninterrupted. We were fascinated to hear of the robust, evidence-based investigation undertaken to identify and tackle the problem and proud to think that, without our talented and dedicated staff passionate staff, this problem could have gone undetected. We were delighted that the Minister for Health and Social Services recognised the team’s diligence in his statement on the subject.

Last week, the expertise, and leading-edge knowledge we have amongst Public Health Wales’ staff was in evidence again, this time when attending two Welsh Parliament Committees. Firstly, Mark Bellis, Tracey Cooper and Sumina Azam gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on the barriers to the successful implementation of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Secondly, on Wednesday 27 January, Tracey, along with Giri Shankar and Robin Howe, gave evidence on the pandemic to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. It was our fourth time giving evidence at the Committee on COVID-19 and questions centred on a range of issues: the effectiveness of the firebreak, the emergence of new variants and the implications for the response, the vaccination programme and testing capacity.

Watching both Committees, it was clear that members valued the opportunity to hear from our authoritative experts and both Chairs commented on the quality of the written submissions. As always, Sian Bolton had co-ordinated that written evidence, to the highest of standards. You can read both written submissions at https://senedd.wales/senedd-business/committees/

At the Board meeting last week, we heard from Dr Richard Roberts, Director of the Vaccine and Preventable Disease Programme. He gave a detailed presentation on the Covid-19 vaccination programme, updating the Board on the approvals process for the two vaccines currently in use in the UK, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) prioritisation groups and progress on vaccine delivery.  Richard explained how the programme, and the data captured through surveillance work, would assist in making sure that those who were at most risk, including those from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds, were well supported in accessing the vaccine. This would ensure fair access, addressing any specific barriers that individuals or groups might face. We expressed our thanks to Richard for everything that the VPDP team is doing in this vitally important vaccination programme.

Under Tracey’s Chief Executive update, the Board discussed building momentum around addressing the broader COVID-19 harms; the Operational Plan identified three priorities- the impact of unemployment, mental health and well-being and vulnerable groups-as part of the population health work stream. As a Board, we acknowledged the resource challenges around this, in that we must continue to give priority to the health protection response. We recognised, how important the broader harms agenda would become in the coming year and the Board agreed to focus on mobilising in support of it.

The Performance Assurance Dashboard (PAD) featured new’ tiles’ again this month, and Alex Lewis was on hand to guide us through the performance report, calling up specific ‘tiles’, during the discussion. We commented particularly on the Screening Division’s performance in maintaining levels of access to screening programmes, when the whole system was under such pressure, and congratulated Sharon Hillier and the team on this.

We took the annual report on the gender pay gap, in line with our statutory duty to publish the details. The Board noted that we had work to do around this, as part of our wider diversity and inclusion agenda; we committed to supporting the action plans being developed in this respect and asked the People and Advisory Group to oversee the plans, reporting on progress to the full Board. We also took the opportunity to congratulate Sarah Morgan and her team on the wide range of issues in this month’s Diversity and Inclusion Week.

As always, the Board takes a keen interest in staff health and well-being and we spent some time discussing the measures in place to support you all. Our thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts, through the wellbeing surveys and through the Wellbeing and Partnership Group, on what was going well, to help inform how best to provide support during these challenging times.

We know that it’s a very hard ask of you all, as you have been working tirelessly on COVID-19 mobilisation for a year, and there is no easing up as yet. We are constantly moved by the fact that you keep going, day in and day out, to help keep the people of Wales safe. We have said before that the population owes you a great debt of gratitude, and that remains the case. You are all outstanding and your commitment to public service is extraordinary. Please keep yourselves safe and well, and take care. 

Jan and Kate