❓ Hon. Sally Talbot questions the Minister for Mental Health regarding the accuracy and availability of data on mental health issues among WA children and young people. The Minister acknowledges data gaps for those not accessing public services but defends the existing data collection and ongoing efforts to improve it.
AnsweredQoN 825Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL
HEALTH — CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE — DATA
825. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the
Minister for Mental Health:
(1) Is the report of the Commissioner for
Children and Young People ''The State of WA's Children and Young
People — Second Edition'' correct when it says ''� there is no adequate or reliable data which accurately reflects
the extent of mental health problems and disorders among Western Australian
children and young people.''?
(2) Why is none of the existing data disaggregated by age,
Aboriginal status or area of residence?
(3) Does the minister intend to ensure that adequate and
reliable data is collected in future?
(4) If so, what changes has the minister made to data
collections practices; and
(5) when will these changes take place?
HEALTH — CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE — DATA
825. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the
Minister for Mental Health:
(1) Is the report of the Commissioner for
Children and Young People ''The State of WA's Children and Young
People — Second Edition'' correct when it says ''� there is no adequate or reliable data which accurately reflects
the extent of mental health problems and disorders among Western Australian
children and young people.''?
(2) Why is none of the existing data disaggregated by age,
Aboriginal status or area of residence?
(3) Does the minister intend to ensure that adequate and
reliable data is collected in future?
(4) If so, what changes has the minister made to data
collections practices; and
(5) when will these changes take place?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question.
(1) There is
adequate and reliable data for WA children and young people who access the WA
public mental health system. It is acknowledged that there is a lack of data
for children and young people who may have mental health and wellbeing concerns
but have not accessed the public mental health system. I do not know whether
members are aware of the hospital morbidity system in Western Australia, but it
has an amazing ability to capture all information about postcode, age,
diagnosis and other issues that relate to anybody who accesses any service
within the public mental health system or the health system in general.
(2) Data
collected by WA public mental health services is available by a range of
demographic variables, including age, Aboriginal status and area of residence,
at a disaggregated level. Presentation of this data at a disaggregated level in
public reports may not be appropriate for statistical reasons, for example, low
numbers, and may also risk potentially identifying individuals where the number
is very low in a small demographic.
(3) Ongoing
data quality and validation checks are undertaken to ensure data accuracy. I
remind members that the hospital morbidity system in Western Australia is one
of the best in the whole world.
Hon
Kate Doust : You just said
that!
Hon HELEN MORTON : I did not say that it was the best in the
world. I am saying it is so good that many other jurisdictions have sought to
replicate the level of information that we get through the morbidity system in
Western Australia.
In the context of the implementation of the Stokes review and
in the development of the 10-year mental health and alcohol and other drug
service plan, I have held ongoing discussions with the director general of
Health and the Mental Health Commissioner on improving data quality, collection
and sharing—in particular, sharing. This is a complex issue and one
that is being looked at carefully as a part of the ongoing mental health reform
agenda, considering policy, legislative and information system requirements.
The answer continues —
(4)–(5) Not applicable.
I also add that in the context of the mental health service
plan that has been developed, we have utilised the national mental health
service planning framework project, which has a raft of normative information
around demographic issues—Aboriginality, age, location and expected
levels of all different degrees of mental illness. This framework has been
worked on collectively by all states and is being used to assist in the mental
health service plan.
(1) There is
adequate and reliable data for WA children and young people who access the WA
public mental health system. It is acknowledged that there is a lack of data
for children and young people who may have mental health and wellbeing concerns
but have not accessed the public mental health system. I do not know whether
members are aware of the hospital morbidity system in Western Australia, but it
has an amazing ability to capture all information about postcode, age,
diagnosis and other issues that relate to anybody who accesses any service
within the public mental health system or the health system in general.
(2) Data
collected by WA public mental health services is available by a range of
demographic variables, including age, Aboriginal status and area of residence,
at a disaggregated level. Presentation of this data at a disaggregated level in
public reports may not be appropriate for statistical reasons, for example, low
numbers, and may also risk potentially identifying individuals where the number
is very low in a small demographic.
(3) Ongoing
data quality and validation checks are undertaken to ensure data accuracy. I
remind members that the hospital morbidity system in Western Australia is one
of the best in the whole world.
Hon
Kate Doust : You just said
that!
Hon HELEN MORTON : I did not say that it was the best in the
world. I am saying it is so good that many other jurisdictions have sought to
replicate the level of information that we get through the morbidity system in
Western Australia.
In the context of the implementation of the Stokes review and
in the development of the 10-year mental health and alcohol and other drug
service plan, I have held ongoing discussions with the director general of
Health and the Mental Health Commissioner on improving data quality, collection
and sharing—in particular, sharing. This is a complex issue and one
that is being looked at carefully as a part of the ongoing mental health reform
agenda, considering policy, legislative and information system requirements.
The answer continues —
(4)–(5) Not applicable.
I also add that in the context of the mental health service
plan that has been developed, we have utilised the national mental health
service planning framework project, which has a raft of normative information
around demographic issues—Aboriginality, age, location and expected
levels of all different degrees of mental illness. This framework has been
worked on collectively by all states and is being used to assist in the mental
health service plan.
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