Thursday, 26 May 2022

Western Metropolitan Region maternal and child health services

Dr CUMMING (Western Metropolitan) (18:51): (1950) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Health in the other place, and the action that I seek is for the minister to work with the Melton City Council to cope with the record demand for maternal and child health services. Melton mothers are struggling to get vital health check-ups for their children and babies, with Melton council’s maternal and child health service still restricted by nursing shortages across the sector. In the City of Melton the weekly number of births has increased from 47 babies in 2020 to about 60 to 90 a week. New clients entering the service are up from 242 in 2020 to 352 today.

The maternal checks are normally a free service offered by councils. They monitor babies’ key development factors like weight and diet and provide support and advice to new parents. They are also an essential check for parents of those children. Early childhood and maternal care experts warn ongoing limits to free service mean that some parents are relying on blogs instead of actually getting proper health information about their child’s development. There are fears that health issues in babies could be going undetected, as infant and maternal health checks remain suspended in parts of Melbourne’s west due to the shortage of workers.

The Department of Health enacted an initial six-week pause on maternal checks for babies aged over eight weeks on 28 January while a code brown was in place. The emergency measures allowed for the state’s health workforce to be redeployed. This meant that specialist nurses were unable to actually conduct regular infant checks. Despite the code brown finishing in mid-February, long-term workforce shortages and the COVID-driven baby boom have meant that some councils are still unable to offer the service. Wyndham City Council is still only conducting maternal checks on babies under the age of eight weeks, and Melton City Council is still only conducting checks on babies under four months. Melton’s maternal and child health service capacity will be reviewed, and further advice will be provided by the end of this month.

Melton City Council appreciate, obviously, the nursing shortfall across the sector, but they also need reassurance that Victorian families are receiving the care available for their growing children. So they need assistance to offer initiatives for nurses to move into maternal and child health work in the outer growth areas, as well as funding, scholarships and tertiary places.