❓ Ms Mettam questions the Minister for Health about waitlists for paediatric services and coordination between CAHS and CAMHS. The Minister acknowledges the issue, outlines initiatives to address it, and highlights ongoing efforts.
AnsweredQoN 675Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Paediatric services—Waitlist
675. Ms Libby Mettam to
the Minister for Health:
I refer to recent
confirmation that the public waitlist for children to see a paediatrician has
now soared to nearly 12,000 and to the recommendations of the Select Committee
into Child Development Services.
(1) Has a clear procedure been established between
the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) and child adolescent mental
health services (CAMHS) to ensure that each child is seen by the most
appropriate service regardless of where they were
initially referred and to avoid unnecessary referral refusals, causing even
longer wait times?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
675. Ms Libby Mettam to
the Minister for Health:
I refer to recent
confirmation that the public waitlist for children to see a paediatrician has
now soared to nearly 12,000 and to the recommendations of the Select Committee
into Child Development Services.
(1) Has a clear procedure been established between
the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) and child adolescent mental
health services (CAMHS) to ensure that each child is seen by the most
appropriate service regardless of where they were
initially referred and to avoid unnecessary referral refusals, causing even
longer wait times?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the
member for the question.We are doing a lot of work in child development
services, working on ensuring that we are providing opportunities for parents
and their children to get access to the care that they need. We know that in
recent years there has been a significant increase in demand for paediatric,
other development and allied health services, and that has resulted in a higher
number of referrals into the state's child development services—an
additional pressure. We are very proud of our child development services. As
the member would know, it is unique in Australia in that it provides for
diagnosis, treatment and therapy for children. We are very proud of the service
that we have here and the support that it provides for families, although we
have been very focused on what we can do to assist with reducing those waitlists
and the demand that is there.
The work we have been doing to
implement the recommendations from the parliamentary report have been important
to us, and we have been focusing on a range of initiatives, not just the uplift
in staff, which is an important part of our approach, but also co-locating child
development services. We have done that recently at community hubs in both
Midland and Murdoch. We have also trialled Saturday opening hours at two CDS
sites, in Joondalup and Rockingham, to provide more access for families outside
Monday to Friday, as well as nurse-led pilot programs as a way of providing
treatment and providing support. As I said, we have also invested additional
money, $39 million, to provide an uplift for 100 staff across a range of
disciplines.
We know we still have more that
we need to do. We are continuing to focus on ways that we can provide support
to families. Part of that is our commitment at the election to provide support
for GPs to be able to independently diagnose and manage attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder as a way of providing alternative pathways for parents
to get the support that they need. As I have said before, we will continue to
look at what we can do in this area in particular to make sure that the people
who need the support of our child development service have access to it.
member for the question.We are doing a lot of work in child development
services, working on ensuring that we are providing opportunities for parents
and their children to get access to the care that they need. We know that in
recent years there has been a significant increase in demand for paediatric,
other development and allied health services, and that has resulted in a higher
number of referrals into the state's child development services—an
additional pressure. We are very proud of our child development services. As
the member would know, it is unique in Australia in that it provides for
diagnosis, treatment and therapy for children. We are very proud of the service
that we have here and the support that it provides for families, although we
have been very focused on what we can do to assist with reducing those waitlists
and the demand that is there.
The work we have been doing to
implement the recommendations from the parliamentary report have been important
to us, and we have been focusing on a range of initiatives, not just the uplift
in staff, which is an important part of our approach, but also co-locating child
development services. We have done that recently at community hubs in both
Midland and Murdoch. We have also trialled Saturday opening hours at two CDS
sites, in Joondalup and Rockingham, to provide more access for families outside
Monday to Friday, as well as nurse-led pilot programs as a way of providing
treatment and providing support. As I said, we have also invested additional
money, $39 million, to provide an uplift for 100 staff across a range of
disciplines.
We know we still have more that
we need to do. We are continuing to focus on ways that we can provide support
to families. Part of that is our commitment at the election to provide support
for GPs to be able to independently diagnose and manage attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder as a way of providing alternative pathways for parents
to get the support that they need. As I have said before, we will continue to
look at what we can do in this area in particular to make sure that the people
who need the support of our child development service have access to it.
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