It's Time Wales Started Putting Children First: An open letter to party leaders
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Your voice matters, and this is your chance to make it heard. By signing this iParl letter, you’re adding your name to our call to action that we will send directly to party leaders and candidates a month before the Senedd elections in May 2026. Add your signature today and send a clear message that policymakers must prioritise children’s health and wellbeing.
You can read how your information is used and protected in the iParl privacy notice on the RCPCH website.
You can read how your information is used and protected in the iParl privacy notice on the RCPCH website.
It's Time Wales Started Putting Children First: An open letter to party leaders and candidates ahead of the Senedd election
With only a month to go before the Senedd election, we write as members and supporters of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Wales to urge you to support our call and make the health and wellbeing of babies, children and young people a national priority.
A healthy childhood is the foundation for good physical and mental health in adulthood. Yet every day, child health professionals across Wales see significant challenges facing children and their families:
- Long waits for care, with services and staff under strain
- A third of our children growing up in poverty
- A quarter of our 4-5 year olds overweight or obese
- The rate of children adn young people with a diagnosable mental health condition doubling over the past two decades
Children's needs have too often been overlooked in a health system largely designed around adults. We cannot continue like this. Children cannot wait another Senedd term for things to change.
The status quo is not an option. Children in Wales deserve to know they are a priority.
We call on all political parties to commit to putting children at the centre of policymaking, address the historic underfunding of child health services and support the workforce that cares for them.
Investing in children's health is one of the most effective ways to build a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Wales. Giving child health services its fair share would reduce long term pressures on the NHS and give more of our children the chance to thrive.
Our call to action
We urge you, as a party leader, to:
- Commit publicly to prioritising the health of babies, children and young people in your campaign pledges
- Support positive change for child health by tackling poverty and mounting inequalities that harm children’s health and wellbeing
- Meet with RCPCH representatives within the first 100 days of the new Senedd term and work with them to build a system that reflects the needs of the next generation.
Mae’n Hen Bryd i Gymru Ddechrau Rhoi Plant yn Gyntaf: Llythyr agored at arweinwyr pleidiau
Mae eich llais chi’n bwysig, a dyma eich cyfle chi i sicrhau ei fod yn cael ei glywed. Drwy lofnodi’r llythyr iParl hwn, rydych chi’n ychwanegu eich enw at ein galwad i weithredu y byddwn yn ei anfon yn uniongyrchol at arweinwyr y pleidiau a’r ymgeiswyr fis cyn etholiadau’r Senedd ym mis Mai 2026. Ychwanegwch eich llofnod heddiw ac anfon neges glir bod yn rhaid i lunwyr polisïau flaenoriaethu iechyd a llesiant plant.
Gallwch ddarllen sut bydd eich gwybodaeth yn cael ei defnyddio a'i diogelu yn hysbysiad preifatrwydd iParl ar wefan y Coleg Brenhinol Pediatreg ac Iechyd Plant.
Mae’n Hen Bryd i Gymru Ddechrau Rhoi Plant yn Gyntaf: Llythyr agored at arweinwyr y pleidiau a’r ymgeiswyr cyn etholiad y Senedd
A hithau ond yn fis tan etholiad y Senedd, rydym yn ysgrifennu fel aelodau a chefnogwyr Coleg Brenhinol Pediatreg ac Iechyd Plant Cymru i’ch annog i gefnogi ein galwad a sicrhau bod iechyd a llesiant babanod, plant a phobl ifanc yn flaenoriaeth genedlaethol.
Plentyndod iach yw’r sylfaen ar gyfer iechyd corfforol a meddyliol da pan fyddwch yn oedolyn. Er hynny mae gweithwyr iechyd plant proffesiynol ledled Cymru yn gweld heriau mawr yn wynebu plant a’u teuluoedd bob dydd:
- Aros yn hir am ofal, gyda gwasanaethau a staff dan straen
- Traean o’n plant yn cael eu magu mewn tlodi
- Chwarter o’n plant 4-5 oed dros bwysau neu’n ordew
- Cyfradd y plant a phobl ifanc sydd â chyflwr iechyd meddwl y gellir ei ddiagnosio wedi dyblu dros y ddau ddegawd diwethaf
Yn rhy aml o lawer, mae anghenion plant wedi cael eu hanwybyddu mewn system iechyd sydd wedi’i chynllunio’n bennaf o amgylch oedolion. Ni allwn barhau fel hyn. Ni all plant aros tymor Senedd arall i bethau newid.
Nid yw’r status quo yn opsiwn. Mae plant yng Nghymru yn haeddu gwybod eu bod yn flaenoriaeth.
Rydym yn galw ar bob plaid wleidyddol i ymrwymo i roi plant wrth galon y broses o lunio polisïau, mynd i’r afael â’r tanariannu hanesyddol ar gyfer gwasanaethau iechyd plant a chefnogi’r gweithlu sy’n gofalu amdanynt.
Buddsoddi yn iechyd plant yw un o’r ffyrdd mwyaf effeithiol o adeiladu Cymru iachach, decach a mwy ffyniannus. Byddai rhoi cyfran deg i wasanaethau iechyd plant yn lleihau’r pwysau hirdymor ar y GIG ac yn rhoi cyfle i ragor o’n plant ffynnu.
Ein galwad i weithredu
Rydym yn eich annog chi, fel arweinydd eich plaid, i wneud y canlynol:
- Ymrwymo’n gyhoeddus i flaenoriaethu iechyd babanod, plant a phobl ifanc yn addewidion eich ymgyrch
- Cefnogi newid cadarnhaol ar gyfer iechyd plant drwy fynd i’r afael â thlodi ac anghydraddoldebau cynyddol sy’n niweidio iechyd a llesiant plant
- Cwrdd â chynrychiolwyr o’r Coleg Brenhinol Pediatreg ac Iechyd Plant yn ystod 100 diwrnod tymor newydd y Senedd a gweithio gyda nhw i adeiladu system sy’n adlewyrchu anghenion y genhedlaeth nesaf.