By Emily Chapman Laing
City of Casey babies are missing out on crucial health appointments.
Due to staffing shortages, Casey Council was forced to revoked appointments for babies beyond eight weeks, before then extending it to four months and now it says it is prioritisng up to eight months.
“Workforce pressures continue to be felt across Victoria’s healthcare sector,” council wrote in a service update on 21 February 2023.
“While we manage these staffing challenges, council’s MCH service is needing to prioritise appointments for babies up to eight months old and families with additional needs.”
Many local parents are unhappy with the restrictions, which are leaving them without the security of the regularly scheduled health check-ups. Appointments with MCHS traditionally run from two weeks until three and a half years old.
Instead, parents are being advised to see their local GP, though many parents are not satisfied with this alternative.
“As a first time mum it’s super disappointing,” one local parent said.
“It worries me that babies will slip through the cracks and things may be missed due to these visits being cancelled.”
Conversely, another local mum is encouraging parents to skip MCH altogether and go straight for the GP.
“MCHN are often old school and did nothing but make me feel I wasn’t doing good enough,” she said.
“I’ve had two kids and I didn’t see any MCHN with my second, [I] just went with my GP.”
However, the ongoing pause continues to be a worry, as these “Key Age and Stage” appointments are crucial in ensuring healthy development of children.
“Maternal checks played a vital role in early screening for health problems, providing referrals and identifying risk factors like domestic violence and postnatal depression,” said Jennifer Weber, chief executive of Caroline Chisholm Society, in an interview with Guardian Australia.
Council has provided information for other alternative services, including a 24-hour Maternal and Child Health Line and free onsite nursing services at SuperCare pharmacies.
City of Casey director community life, Callum Pattie ensures that the council is working to resolve the staffing issues.
“Additional staff have recently been recruited, along with 12 MCH students who are in their final year of placement,” Mr Pattie said.
“This has allowed us to expand our service to offer regular MCH appointments for babies up to eight months old.
“Council is continuing to work closely with the Victorian Department of Health, Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Safer Care Victoria to resolve the workforce issue as early as possible to bring us back up to full service levels as quickly as possible.”
While MCH nursing services are restricted, council continues to provide other free services, including first-time parent’s groups, sleep and settling support, lactation support and online workshops for food introduction.
In-home support continues to be available for parents who are referred to council by a MCH nurse, GP, or other health professionals.
