Independent Member for Alfred Cove, Dr Janet Woollard, is calling on the State Government to address the shortcomings of Western Australia’s health screening program for pre-primary and primary children after a Parliamentary Inquiry found that children may have to wait up to 18 months before they can be properly assessed, diagnosed and treated for any health conditions.

“I am calling on the Government to heed the recommendations of the Education and Health Standing Committee and look into injecting funds and resources to ensure that our children are not left behind,” said Dr Woollard who chairs the Committee which conducted the inquiry.

“It is disturbing that children have to wait a very long time for a health assessment and their development is further damaged while waiting.

“When they have been assessed and found to require treatment, the children must again wait before they can receive treatment.

“This is unacceptable given the Committee found between 20 to 25 percent of the State’s children start their school life with some form of health disability that will probably affect their learning abilities.

“If a child’s development falls behind because of health issues, his development is hindered and affected during not only the early years, but also throughout the child’s school years and possibly into his adult years,” said Dr Woollard.

Dr Woollard said other studies for instance have shown the negative impact of undiagnosed and untreated speech and language disabilities.

“A study by Dr Pamela Snow of Monash University and Professor Martine Powell of Deakin University highlighted the long term consequences of children not being properly diagnosed and treated. It found that of 50 male juvenile offenders studied, more than half had undiagnosed oral impairments,” said Dr Woollard.

“Professor James Heckman, who is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, argued that every $1 spent in the early years of a child’s life saves at least $17 in later service demands.

“Providing more funds and resources to improve the State’s health screening programmes for children is about future savings and investments and is in line with the Government’s position about investing in our State’s future as stated in the recent Budget announcements.

“I am very hopeful that support will be given to the Committee’s recommendations, which will help to ensure that in 10 years time, members of Parliament would not say that funding for children’s health services and child development is still a problem,” said Dr Woollard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Recommendations by the Education and Health Standing Parliamentary Committee following its inquiry into General Health Screening of Children at Pre-Primary and Primary School Level include:

• A $10 million investment over four years to ensure that all newborns receive a neo-natal hearing test. Currently, just 49% of the State’s babies are screened. The government will save $1.2 million in ongoing health costs for every child whose poor hearing is identified.

• The Department of Health investigate moving some health screening activities (such as speech and language) from pre-primary and primary school years to an earlier age and have simpler tests undertaken by appropriately trained childcare staff.

• A renewed emphasis on phonemic awareness (phonics) in early education, which will offer substantial preventative health benefits particularly through improving the “school-readiness” of children suffering speech and language disorders.

• The number of school health nurses, community child health nurses and allied health professionals employed within WA’s child health services be urgently increased. The new staff required are 126 FTE in the Child Development Services, 105 FTE Community Child Health Nurses and 135 FTE for school nurses.

• The Government assess what early childhood services can be transferred to, and resourced within, the Department of Education and Training.