A 38: Alice Springs Branch (NT)

Specific Education Needs
Motion:

That ICPA (Aust) urges the Federal Minister for Health and other relevant ministers and agencies to ensure that federally funded health clinics and health physicians across Australia are easily accessible to all Australians, so all geographically isolated children can receive a diagnosis and ngoing treatment of medical issues that impede their ability to learn and thrive.

Explanation:

We appreciate that there is ongoing work in progress for this motion. We thank ICPA Federal Council for your efforts thus far and wish to advise that the issue is still relevant and ongoing. Northern Territory ICPA members and families are unable to access public service providers without frequently being turned away from their local public, albeit remote, health clinics because they ‘do not meet the criteria’ (to access the public health clinic). Remote families have no other ‘local’ health clinic alternative, but if they ‘don’t meet the criteria’ and are refused treatment, they necessarily must travel vast distances including interstate to access treatment for what could have otherwise been dealt with closer to where they live, at their closest remote health clinic, serviced by rostered doctors, specialists and allied health providers. Some families are facing months, even years to try and access services in remote Australia being put on a waiting list that never actually runs in order either. It is not acceptable that publicly funded health facilities discriminate on race, demographic, or on any other basis, let alone in a situation where there are no other local alternatives for rural and remote families to ‘conveniently’ access.

Case Study 1:

Mum of seven year old child that has finally been diagnosed with ADHD through their SOA in the public system after years of waiting for said child to be assessed has now been told that they have been placed on a 12-18 month wait list to be seen by paediatrician doctors and allied health providers in the public system but if they were to pay or travel interstate they may be seen within a year. Said child has just turned 9 and still hasn't been seen by a paediatric doctor nor an OT or allied health provider. This child is still struggling on a daily basis to complete basic school activities, basic daily tasks, form friendships and socially interact on a 9 year old level. This child is now mentally suffering and receiving private counselling and psychology with the parent out of pocket hundreds of dollars a month. A paediatric doctor and Occupational Therapist visit this family’slocal clinic only an hour away on a monthly to 6 weekly basis and this family has been told that because they do not fit the criteria they cannot be seen by these specialists!

Case Study 2:

Mum of four-year-old enrolled through SOA with a stutter and some speech problems, went to local remote clinic wanting to book an appointment with a speech therapist that travels to the local clinic on occasion, during the year. Mum was told, “I’m sorry, you do not fit the criteria, you will have to make an appointment in Darwin”. Mum gets hold of the same speech therapist that travels to the local clinic, still told “No, I can’t see you in XXXX (971km from Darwin), but I can see you in Darwin anytime”. The speech therapist tells Mum that the first thing she must do is get a hearing test for her child, “Most local clinics are able to do a simple hearing test”. Back to XXXX clinic and told yet again, sorry, you don’t fit the criteria. Mum has had to travel 971km to Darwin for hearing tests and an initial consultation with a therapist; the rest of the appointments were done over Zoom. Mum reports “Zoom is ok, but certainly made it harder with the delay to be able to fully show the mouth positioning and sounds. It would be helpful to see the therapist at our local clinic once in a while, to make sure we are doing the right thing.”

CARRIED