Thursday, 9 June 2022

Maternal and child health services

Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:26): (1982) In February this year I raised a matter for the Minister for Health, and it was around maternal and child health nurses, particularly after the code brown had been declared, when maternal and child health nurses had been redeployed into the public health system. I have not had a response to that adjournment matter, but nevertheless I have been raising this issue about the shortage of maternal and child health nurses for quite some months.

I am glad that Mr Leane is in the chamber tonight, because I did raise an issue with him in a question I asked on 23 March, and it was the issue around the western suburbs councils, Melton and Wyndham, that were having a particular shortage. That has been in the news again today, and we have got thousands of newborn babies that have not got appointments for these really critical follow-up visits by nurses with the expertise that can pick up so many things, such as developmental delays, feeding issues, settling issues, postnatal depression in the mother or family violence within the family unit. These are really critical visits that pick up so much, and these things can have significant ramifications if they are not detected. I am very concerned about the state of what is going on, and I understand that there is a shortage. But this shortage was prior to COVID, which is not what the Premier and others came out and said today. There have been inquiries into this, and the perinatal inquiry back in 2018 highlighted the shortage. So to say that it is due to COVID is an absolute furphy, another absolutely disingenuous comment by the Premier. Nevertheless, this issue is very significant, and I am very concerned about the state of where it is at.

In response to my question to the Minister for Local Government—and, Minister, this adjournment matter is addressed to you—he said that he meets with the Municipal Association of Victoria regularly. My question was, ‘Have you met with the MAV about this specific issue?’, because it involved councils and was—

Mr Leane: They didn’t, though. They didn’t bring me that.

Ms CROZIER: Well, I will get you to comment, because you said:

… and if the MAV want to brief me on anything, including this issue, I am more than open to it.

Because these councils have spoken out, have been speaking out for quite some time and have been making their issues known, the matter I ask about is: have the MAV briefed you on this? Has any council briefed you on it? I see you nodding, ‘No, they haven’t’, so you are answering my question. Would you please then reach out to these councils and find out their concerns so that you have a greater understanding and perhaps bring that back to the house? I would very much appreciate that. Thank you so much.