❓ Mrs. Stojkovski asks about improvements to paediatric services and the government's response to the Select Committee's interim report. The Minister outlines initiatives to address demand and improve service delivery, including innovative solutions and hub-and-spoke models.
AnsweredQoN 902Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SELECT COMMITTEE INTO CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES —
INTERIM REPORT
902. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the interim report of the
Select Committee into Child Development Services, Child development services
in Western Australia: Valuing our children and their needs , tabled in the
Legislative Council today.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government continues to improve the
delivery of paediatric and child health services in WA?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how the government will respond to findings and
recommendations in today's report?
INTERIM REPORT
902. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the interim report of the
Select Committee into Child Development Services, Child development services
in Western Australia: Valuing our children and their needs , tabled in the
Legislative Council today.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government continues to improve the
delivery of paediatric and child health services in WA?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how the government will respond to findings and
recommendations in today's report?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Kingsley for her question and for her ongoing advocacy for
child development services and their access to the community. The Child
Development Service in Western Australia is unique in the country. There is no
other publicly run service that does intake assessment and treatment in the
public system, so it is a unique service. In fact, with our private sector
partners, families move to Western Australia to access services, particularly
those with kids with autism. I thank the committee for its very thorough
consideration of this issue. The government supported the establishment of the
inquiry, looking for very practical suggestions to a very complex issue. The
interim report has delivered some very simple and practical findings and
recommendations, so I thank the committee, and in particular Hon Dr Sally
Talbot, for its work and commitment.
There is no question that demand for
both public and private developmental services has exploded over the last few
years. The report outlines that both public and private services are
overwhelmed by demand. There are a number of reasons for that. In fact,
referrals to paediatricians have increased by 123 per cent and referrals to
clinical psychologists have increased by 114 per cent. The workforce has not
grown in that time at that pace. Add to that an increase in the complexity of
clients, more complex social factors and the requirement for multidisciplinary
care from multiple highly skilled health practitioners to provide interventions
for these children.
As outlined by the report, this is
not a Western Australian challenge. It is not even just an Australian challenge; providing multidisciplinary
interventions for these kids is a global challenge. However, I can reassure
the community that the Child Development Service is a priority for both myself
and the government. I am listening to parents, the Child and Adolescent Health
Service and non-government organisations and will carefully consider the
recommendations of the interim report.
I understand the challenges that
families face when they have challenging circumstances and a child who needs
assessment. We are working on what this will look like and how we can better
meet those needs. I have to give great credit to the Child Development Service
because it is implementing really innovative solutions in the meantime,
including piloting a joint nurse–paediatrician medication review
pathway so that children on medication through the CDS do not have to see a paediatrician
every time they need a review. We are using nurse practitioners at the top of
their scope to do those reviews and support those families. Of course, that
also frees up space for that paediatrician.
We are piloting a combination of
service planning and assessment appointments. It will create more efficient
appointments for those families so that they do not have to take time off and
come back many times. We have also opened some CDS sites on weekends. The
reality is that families work and going to multiple appointments during work
time is extremely onerous and challenging for families, so we are trialling
Saturday appointments. In credit to those in the healthcare workforce, they
have embraced that with open arms because they know it is making a difference
to those families.
We are creating more flexibility
in the way that we deliver services. We are transitioning to electronic referral processes, reducing administrative
burden, and are moving to a hub-and-spoke model. The M urdoch and Midland hub-and-spoke sites are currently
under development. That is where the Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services and mental health, behavioural and developmental experts will all be
together in the same building so that families will get that genuine
multidisciplinary approach, instead of having to go to different sites on different days to see different healthcare
workers. We are putting the patients, children and their families at the
very centre of those services. That is exactly the way that health care should
be; it is about putting patients and families at the centre.
I also have to say that we are also
seeing a significant number of private paediatricians ageing out and retiring.
I get regular heartbreaking letters from families whose private paediatrician
is retiring and not referring them onto other paediatricians. They are not
being case-managed into another service. They are simply being dropped. The CDS
stood up an entirely new service to support those families for ongoing
medication management. It stood up an entirely new service, with a finite
workforce that had to be drawn from other parts of the service, to fill the gap
that paediatricians are leaving as they retire.
We
do not get to close our books. The government service does not close its books
and it does not get to reduce its hours or pick and choose its clients.
A number of consultants will not see certain conditions and medication
requirements. That is not the case for the state government. We see everyone,
no matter where they live, their condition or their personal circumstances.
That is the great strength of the Child Development Service.
We are very committed to providing
ongoing support for the Child Development Service, expanding it and doing
things better with what we have got. I thank the committee for its inquiry,
particularly for its interim findings. We will examine them closely and seek to
work better with CDS in the future.
thank the member for Kingsley for her question and for her ongoing advocacy for
child development services and their access to the community. The Child
Development Service in Western Australia is unique in the country. There is no
other publicly run service that does intake assessment and treatment in the
public system, so it is a unique service. In fact, with our private sector
partners, families move to Western Australia to access services, particularly
those with kids with autism. I thank the committee for its very thorough
consideration of this issue. The government supported the establishment of the
inquiry, looking for very practical suggestions to a very complex issue. The
interim report has delivered some very simple and practical findings and
recommendations, so I thank the committee, and in particular Hon Dr Sally
Talbot, for its work and commitment.
There is no question that demand for
both public and private developmental services has exploded over the last few
years. The report outlines that both public and private services are
overwhelmed by demand. There are a number of reasons for that. In fact,
referrals to paediatricians have increased by 123 per cent and referrals to
clinical psychologists have increased by 114 per cent. The workforce has not
grown in that time at that pace. Add to that an increase in the complexity of
clients, more complex social factors and the requirement for multidisciplinary
care from multiple highly skilled health practitioners to provide interventions
for these children.
As outlined by the report, this is
not a Western Australian challenge. It is not even just an Australian challenge; providing multidisciplinary
interventions for these kids is a global challenge. However, I can reassure
the community that the Child Development Service is a priority for both myself
and the government. I am listening to parents, the Child and Adolescent Health
Service and non-government organisations and will carefully consider the
recommendations of the interim report.
I understand the challenges that
families face when they have challenging circumstances and a child who needs
assessment. We are working on what this will look like and how we can better
meet those needs. I have to give great credit to the Child Development Service
because it is implementing really innovative solutions in the meantime,
including piloting a joint nurse–paediatrician medication review
pathway so that children on medication through the CDS do not have to see a paediatrician
every time they need a review. We are using nurse practitioners at the top of
their scope to do those reviews and support those families. Of course, that
also frees up space for that paediatrician.
We are piloting a combination of
service planning and assessment appointments. It will create more efficient
appointments for those families so that they do not have to take time off and
come back many times. We have also opened some CDS sites on weekends. The
reality is that families work and going to multiple appointments during work
time is extremely onerous and challenging for families, so we are trialling
Saturday appointments. In credit to those in the healthcare workforce, they
have embraced that with open arms because they know it is making a difference
to those families.
We are creating more flexibility
in the way that we deliver services. We are transitioning to electronic referral processes, reducing administrative
burden, and are moving to a hub-and-spoke model. The M urdoch and Midland hub-and-spoke sites are currently
under development. That is where the Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services and mental health, behavioural and developmental experts will all be
together in the same building so that families will get that genuine
multidisciplinary approach, instead of having to go to different sites on different days to see different healthcare
workers. We are putting the patients, children and their families at the
very centre of those services. That is exactly the way that health care should
be; it is about putting patients and families at the centre.
I also have to say that we are also
seeing a significant number of private paediatricians ageing out and retiring.
I get regular heartbreaking letters from families whose private paediatrician
is retiring and not referring them onto other paediatricians. They are not
being case-managed into another service. They are simply being dropped. The CDS
stood up an entirely new service to support those families for ongoing
medication management. It stood up an entirely new service, with a finite
workforce that had to be drawn from other parts of the service, to fill the gap
that paediatricians are leaving as they retire.
We
do not get to close our books. The government service does not close its books
and it does not get to reduce its hours or pick and choose its clients.
A number of consultants will not see certain conditions and medication
requirements. That is not the case for the state government. We see everyone,
no matter where they live, their condition or their personal circumstances.
That is the great strength of the Child Development Service.
We are very committed to providing
ongoing support for the Child Development Service, expanding it and doing
things better with what we have got. I thank the committee for its inquiry,
particularly for its interim findings. We will examine them closely and seek to
work better with CDS in the future.
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