CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH SERVICE — CHILD
HEALTH APPOINTMENTS
477. Hon DONNA FARAGHER to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the answer provided to question without notice 452 asked on 18 May
2022 about child health appointments undertaken by community health
nurses and the reference to the ''COVID-19 system alert red phase up
until 16 May 2022'' and that the ''revised
definition of 'close contacts' supported a return to usual
one-step appointments''.
(1) In line with
the decision to return to one-step appointments for child health checks, can
the minister also advise whether the following are now being offered to
families —
(a) face-to-face drop-in sessions;
(b) face-to-face parenting groups;
and
(c) face-to-face child development
service appointments?
(2) If no to (1)(a), (b) or (c),
why not?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) (a)–(b) No.
(c) All
metropolitan child development service appointments are currently being
provided via telehealth wherever it is
clinically suitable. Components of services that are not clinically suitable
for telehealth, such as physical assessments, continue to be provided in
person.
(2) The Child and
Adolescent Health Service continues to provide services in line with the red
phase of the Western Australian COVID-19 framework for system alert and
response. There is currently no change to services that are provided via
telehealth or in person, only a change to the length of time that can be spent
in an appointment that is occurring in person. This has enabled a return to the
delivery of child health checks as a single, in-person appointment instead of
the two-step process.