❓ Ms. Mitchell asks the Minister for Health for an update on the WA Health community service leave initiative, launched 18 months prior. The Minister responds positively, detailing the program's success and impact on staff and international aid efforts.
AnsweredQoN 567Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HEALTH COMMUNITY SERVICE LEAVE INITIATIVE
567. Ms A.R. MITCHELL to the Minister for Health:
My question is to the Minister for Health.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cockburn, if you want to say something, I would prefer you got to
your feet and asked a question. I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Bassendean, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Ms A.R. MITCHELL :
I understand that in March 2011 the minister launched the WA Health community
service leave initiative. Now that 18 months have passed since the initiative
began could he please update the house on how it is going?
567. Ms A.R. MITCHELL to the Minister for Health:
My question is to the Minister for Health.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cockburn, if you want to say something, I would prefer you got to
your feet and asked a question. I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Bassendean, I formally call you to order for the second time
today.
Ms A.R. MITCHELL :
I understand that in March 2011 the minister launched the WA Health community
service leave initiative. Now that 18 months have passed since the initiative
began could he please update the house on how it is going?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. It gives me great
pleasure to provide a response telling members how this program has been going.
It was started 18 months ago. It was based along the lines of something that I
had experienced when I was working in the public sector at Fremantle Hospital.
If someone was in the Army Reserve, they were able to take two weeks'
paid leave, still paid by the public sector, to undertake Army Reserve duty. We
brought in a program that allowed all of our health staff—nurses,
physios; all allied health staff—to do international aid work under
those same arrangements. They could take two weeks' pay, paid at their
basic rate, doing international aid work. We allocated a maximum of 50 staff a
year—I am pleased the Treasurer is not here to listen. That is what we
could afford. We have worked to keep it to that total. But we have had a fantastic
response from our staff; we have had over 6 000 inquiries from members who have
been interested in going. We have had nurses, doctors, midwives,
physiotherapists and speech therapists all doing international aid work as part
of this program. They have gone to countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda,
Madagascar, India, Timor, Cambodia, China and Papua New Guinea. It is a
fantastic program that I encourage our members to keep doing. We will be able
to take more people who want to do that international aid work as we go
forward. It ties in very nicely with the program that we have in which we send
junior trainee midwives to Tanzania to try to reduce the terrible infant
mortality rate that country currently has.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
Who is funding that?
Dr K.D. HAMES : It
is the Global Health Alliance, through the chief nurse and in conjunction with
the consul for Tanzania; they work in concert with that.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
It is federal funding.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I
know. We have had some federal funding. We did it at the request of the federal
foreign affairs minister at the time, the member for Perth. He invited the
group. I seem to recall it had something to do with what the Prime Minister is
currently oversees about—the Security Council vote. Nevertheless, we
were very keen to assist. I have had some fabulous letters from trainee
midwives telling me of the enormous benefit they get as part of their training
from working with people overseas. This
is not just something for our staff to go and have fun doing overseas work;
this is part of training them to understand the difficulties and challenges of
health problems overseas. They come back not only feeling enriched by that
experience, but also with a great addition to their skills, which they can then
pass on to the benefit of the patients they manage here in Western Australia. I
encourage all our staff to continue to take advantage of this fantastic
program.
pleasure to provide a response telling members how this program has been going.
It was started 18 months ago. It was based along the lines of something that I
had experienced when I was working in the public sector at Fremantle Hospital.
If someone was in the Army Reserve, they were able to take two weeks'
paid leave, still paid by the public sector, to undertake Army Reserve duty. We
brought in a program that allowed all of our health staff—nurses,
physios; all allied health staff—to do international aid work under
those same arrangements. They could take two weeks' pay, paid at their
basic rate, doing international aid work. We allocated a maximum of 50 staff a
year—I am pleased the Treasurer is not here to listen. That is what we
could afford. We have worked to keep it to that total. But we have had a fantastic
response from our staff; we have had over 6 000 inquiries from members who have
been interested in going. We have had nurses, doctors, midwives,
physiotherapists and speech therapists all doing international aid work as part
of this program. They have gone to countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda,
Madagascar, India, Timor, Cambodia, China and Papua New Guinea. It is a
fantastic program that I encourage our members to keep doing. We will be able
to take more people who want to do that international aid work as we go
forward. It ties in very nicely with the program that we have in which we send
junior trainee midwives to Tanzania to try to reduce the terrible infant
mortality rate that country currently has.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
Who is funding that?
Dr K.D. HAMES : It
is the Global Health Alliance, through the chief nurse and in conjunction with
the consul for Tanzania; they work in concert with that.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
It is federal funding.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I
know. We have had some federal funding. We did it at the request of the federal
foreign affairs minister at the time, the member for Perth. He invited the
group. I seem to recall it had something to do with what the Prime Minister is
currently oversees about—the Security Council vote. Nevertheless, we
were very keen to assist. I have had some fabulous letters from trainee
midwives telling me of the enormous benefit they get as part of their training
from working with people overseas. This
is not just something for our staff to go and have fun doing overseas work;
this is part of training them to understand the difficulties and challenges of
health problems overseas. They come back not only feeling enriched by that
experience, but also with a great addition to their skills, which they can then
pass on to the benefit of the patients they manage here in Western Australia. I
encourage all our staff to continue to take advantage of this fantastic
program.
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