Improved access to child health services and better staffing will result from the move of the Child Health and Parenting Service (CHaPS) from DHHS back into the Tasmanian Health Service (THS).
The transfer reverses a decision by Labor, who in Government separated child health from other health services, which has made it more difficult to sustainably and effectively deliver the service.
With approximately 6000 births in Tasmania every year, child health nurses support families from just after the birth to when the child reaches age five, successfully engaging with 97 per cent of these new families.
The transfer back to the THS is common sense, and will deliver significant benefits in terms of better links with other key THS services for parents and children, such as midwifery, neonatology, paediatrics, perinatal and infant mental health services.
A greater ability to attract and retain staff are other expected benefits.
Fixing the health system is a major focus for the Hodgman Liberal Government in 2017, supported by a record $6.4 billion investment over four years and the determination to achieve much-needed and overdue reforms.
The nurses I visited today at the Child Health Centre at Mowbray, are wonderful exemplars of the direct support provided to families and communities around Tasmania by CHaPS.
Working in partnership with parents, CHaPS plays a vital role in contributing to the health and educational outcomes of our children, which is linked to good health and wellbeing throughout life.
CHaPS also complements the Hodgman Government’s goal for Tasmania to be the healthiest population in the nation by 2025 and our Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan.