❓ Mr. Cook questions the Minister for Health about a report indicating failures in child health checks and underspending of allocated funds. The Minister acknowledges delays due to difficulties in private sector recruitment but assures the situation is improving.
AnsweredQoN 441Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CHILD
HEALTH SERVICES — AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT
441. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minster for Health:
I refer to the Auditor General's report into child
health checks tabled today that has some damning evidence of how a bigger
proportion of Western Australia's children are failing to get crucial
health checks.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that the proportion of children missing out on health checks
in the first six months of life has increased since 2010–11?
(2) Can he
confirm that he has spent only $7.5 million of the $26.7 million funding provided
to expand child health services in the metropolitan areas?
(3) Does he take responsibility for these failures?
HEALTH SERVICES — AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT
441. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minster for Health:
I refer to the Auditor General's report into child
health checks tabled today that has some damning evidence of how a bigger
proportion of Western Australia's children are failing to get crucial
health checks.
(1) Can the
minister confirm that the proportion of children missing out on health checks
in the first six months of life has increased since 2010–11?
(2) Can he
confirm that he has spent only $7.5 million of the $26.7 million funding provided
to expand child health services in the metropolitan areas?
(3) Does he take responsibility for these failures?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
I am always failing something, am I not? This report that was tabled from the
Auditor General is not as bad as it would appear at first glance. The report
says that we have improved our performance—that additional checks are
being done—but they have not kept pace with the growth in � the birth rates, which has gone up by, I think,
eight or nine per cent. It does not take into account two things. One, in the
area where it refers to checks in children aged 18-months and three-year-olds
having gone up and all the others have gone down, that is not correct. When we
look at the graph, we see that there have been increases in all of the areas of
checks, but, more importantly, we did have some difficulties and they were not
of our making. We had an allocation through Treasury to employ the child health
nurses, which represented a very strong commitment by our government that adds
to the extra funding we provided in a whole range of areas in child services,
particularly with school nurses. But the requirement through Treasury was that
we go to the private sector to contract a large number of those to the private
sector.
Mr M. McGowan :
That has nothing do with the government!
Dr K.D. HAMES : We
did that. We went to the private sector to seek and employ, and we had a target
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Kwinana!
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Please just give it a rest! Let me finish speaking. Just listen to the answer.
The SPEAKER :
Order! Leader of the Opposition!
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
Leader of the Opposition is going on like a —
Mr M. McGowan interjected.
The SPEAKER : The
Leader of the Opposition!
Dr K.D. HAMES : Are
you all right? Have you got it off your chest?
The SPEAKER :
Through the Chair, minister!
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
target is 100 full-time equivalent positions. A large proportion of those—about
30—were employed by us in the country, and the rest had come from the
metropolitan area. The bulk of those were to be employed through the private
sector. The proposal was that 37.5 FTEs by 2013–14 would be employed
through the private sector, and 2.5 FTEs by the government. When we went out to
the private sector, there was a lack of capacity to provide that service. We
worked very hard with organisations like Ngala, Silver Chain and a whole range
of other organisations to try to seek a group with the capacity to provide that
service. As it turned out, they were not able to do it. The government went out
to tender. We sought expressions of interest. We worked with those who
expressed an interest to try to get them to provide that service, and at the
end of the day they just were not able to provide that service. I made the
decision, given that those funds had not been expended and there was a
significant demand in the community, that we, the government, would directly
employ those people. We changed under the revised version that only 6.5 FTEs
would be employed by the private sector, because we reached agreement with some
private sector providers—largely in the city, with a couple in the
country—but we have employed the majority of those positions. We are
doing that right now. In fact, early this year, we went out and employed those
additional FTEs as per our commitment. At the end of the four years with the
funding we have provided, we will reach all those FTEs. The extra 100 FTEs—70
in the city and 30 in the country—will be put in place. However,
because of that problem we had in recruiting people from the private sector to
provide this service, there has been a delay. If this report had been done in
six or eight months' time, it would show a significantly different
result, because those FTEs are being put in place as we speak. That will go and
address those delays.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana! Minister, have you finished?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Yes, that will do, Mr Speaker. I will wait for the supplementary.
I am always failing something, am I not? This report that was tabled from the
Auditor General is not as bad as it would appear at first glance. The report
says that we have improved our performance—that additional checks are
being done—but they have not kept pace with the growth in � the birth rates, which has gone up by, I think,
eight or nine per cent. It does not take into account two things. One, in the
area where it refers to checks in children aged 18-months and three-year-olds
having gone up and all the others have gone down, that is not correct. When we
look at the graph, we see that there have been increases in all of the areas of
checks, but, more importantly, we did have some difficulties and they were not
of our making. We had an allocation through Treasury to employ the child health
nurses, which represented a very strong commitment by our government that adds
to the extra funding we provided in a whole range of areas in child services,
particularly with school nurses. But the requirement through Treasury was that
we go to the private sector to contract a large number of those to the private
sector.
Mr M. McGowan :
That has nothing do with the government!
Dr K.D. HAMES : We
did that. We went to the private sector to seek and employ, and we had a target
—
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Member for Kwinana!
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Please just give it a rest! Let me finish speaking. Just listen to the answer.
The SPEAKER :
Order! Leader of the Opposition!
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
Leader of the Opposition is going on like a —
Mr M. McGowan interjected.
The SPEAKER : The
Leader of the Opposition!
Dr K.D. HAMES : Are
you all right? Have you got it off your chest?
The SPEAKER :
Through the Chair, minister!
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
target is 100 full-time equivalent positions. A large proportion of those—about
30—were employed by us in the country, and the rest had come from the
metropolitan area. The bulk of those were to be employed through the private
sector. The proposal was that 37.5 FTEs by 2013–14 would be employed
through the private sector, and 2.5 FTEs by the government. When we went out to
the private sector, there was a lack of capacity to provide that service. We
worked very hard with organisations like Ngala, Silver Chain and a whole range
of other organisations to try to seek a group with the capacity to provide that
service. As it turned out, they were not able to do it. The government went out
to tender. We sought expressions of interest. We worked with those who
expressed an interest to try to get them to provide that service, and at the
end of the day they just were not able to provide that service. I made the
decision, given that those funds had not been expended and there was a
significant demand in the community, that we, the government, would directly
employ those people. We changed under the revised version that only 6.5 FTEs
would be employed by the private sector, because we reached agreement with some
private sector providers—largely in the city, with a couple in the
country—but we have employed the majority of those positions. We are
doing that right now. In fact, early this year, we went out and employed those
additional FTEs as per our commitment. At the end of the four years with the
funding we have provided, we will reach all those FTEs. The extra 100 FTEs—70
in the city and 30 in the country—will be put in place. However,
because of that problem we had in recruiting people from the private sector to
provide this service, there has been a delay. If this report had been done in
six or eight months' time, it would show a significantly different
result, because those FTEs are being put in place as we speak. That will go and
address those delays.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana! Minister, have you finished?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Yes, that will do, Mr Speaker. I will wait for the supplementary.
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