❓ Mr. Lilburne inquires about the COVID-safe child health clinics in East Perth and Duncraig, and the Minister for Health responds, detailing their importance in ensuring access to vital services for infants and families during high COVID-19 caseloads.
AnsweredQoN 237Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — CHILD HEALTH CLINICS
237. Mr P. LILBURNE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to Western Australia's
world-leading response to COVID-19 and its efforts to support infants and
children throughout the pandemic.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the work of
the Child and Adolescent Health Service's new COVID- safe child
health clinic in East Perth and the soon-to-open clinic in Duncraig?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this will ensure that infants and children can
continue to access important face-to-face child health services in this high
COVID-19 case load environment?
237. Mr P. LILBURNE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to Western Australia's
world-leading response to COVID-19 and its efforts to support infants and
children throughout the pandemic.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the work of
the Child and Adolescent Health Service's new COVID- safe child
health clinic in East Perth and the soon-to-open clinic in Duncraig?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this will ensure that infants and children can
continue to access important face-to-face child health services in this high
COVID-19 case load environment?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Carine for his question and I am very pleased to provide
details to the house on the Child and Adolescent Health Service's
new COVID-safe clinic for child health checks.
(1)–(2) Those
of us who had our babies in Western Australia will be familiar with those child
health checks in the very early days. Certainly, when a person has their first
baby, they look forward to those and look at every
gram that the baby puts on, making sure they are meeting all the percentiles
they need to be; it is a very anxious time. Obviously, we are in a very high
case load setting and we do not want people to miss those checks if they have
particular issues, so CAHS has opened a clinic in East Perth for families who
have COVID in their household or have COVID—whether they are isolating
or have COVID. Those families are particularly vulnerable but we can meet their
needs. They can come into the clinic; see the child health nurse; get the weigh-in; check in on mum, sometimes be
screened for postnatal depression; make sure that everybody is coping in the household; and that we are not
delaying those checks. Isolation is already incredibly, obviously, isolating,
but adding a new baby to that is a layer of stress that can be incredibly
challenging.
The vast majority of people can put
off their appointments, but for some people it is very important that they can
still access their face-to-face check, particularly if they are challenged in
those early months and weeks with gaining weight and feeding. They can, in some
instances, also receive home visits, with the nurses wearing appropriate personal
protective equipment. These clinics were put in place based on some of the
learnings from what occurred in the eastern states when there was a delay in a number
of those appointments. All that does is exacerbate issues more and pushes them
further out so that it is harder for those families later. We want to make sure
that those families are getting access. We are also opening a second clinic in
Duncraig in coming weeks. As we see high case numbers, and a long tail on this
COVID surge, these clinics will be incredibly important.
thank the member for Carine for his question and I am very pleased to provide
details to the house on the Child and Adolescent Health Service's
new COVID-safe clinic for child health checks.
(1)–(2) Those
of us who had our babies in Western Australia will be familiar with those child
health checks in the very early days. Certainly, when a person has their first
baby, they look forward to those and look at every
gram that the baby puts on, making sure they are meeting all the percentiles
they need to be; it is a very anxious time. Obviously, we are in a very high
case load setting and we do not want people to miss those checks if they have
particular issues, so CAHS has opened a clinic in East Perth for families who
have COVID in their household or have COVID—whether they are isolating
or have COVID. Those families are particularly vulnerable but we can meet their
needs. They can come into the clinic; see the child health nurse; get the weigh-in; check in on mum, sometimes be
screened for postnatal depression; make sure that everybody is coping in the household; and that we are not
delaying those checks. Isolation is already incredibly, obviously, isolating,
but adding a new baby to that is a layer of stress that can be incredibly
challenging.
The vast majority of people can put
off their appointments, but for some people it is very important that they can
still access their face-to-face check, particularly if they are challenged in
those early months and weeks with gaining weight and feeding. They can, in some
instances, also receive home visits, with the nurses wearing appropriate personal
protective equipment. These clinics were put in place based on some of the
learnings from what occurred in the eastern states when there was a delay in a number
of those appointments. All that does is exacerbate issues more and pushes them
further out so that it is harder for those families later. We want to make sure
that those families are getting access. We are also opening a second clinic in
Duncraig in coming weeks. As we see high case numbers, and a long tail on this
COVID surge, these clinics will be incredibly important.
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