Multimillion-dollar overhaul for WA children’s health services buckling under ‘unprecedented’ demand

By Holly Thompson

April 9, 2024 — 12.52pm

An unprecedented demand for vital children’s health services across Western Australia has spurred a near-$40 million funding injection as the state government plans a major system overhaul.

The WA Child Development Service will be significantly expanded following the announcement of $39 million in funding on Tuesday, to substantially increase staff including paediatricians, clinical nurse specialists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and audiologists in metropolitan and regional areas.

The state government hopes its newest funding initiative will help children access vital health appointments. Credit: Getty Images

The funding will form part of the next state government budget.

The service is the only one of its kind in Australia where both assessment and intervention services are provided for children with developmental and learning issues.

It has seen an unprecedented surge in demand at a time when there is a global shortage of paediatricians.

In the past 10 years, referrals to CDS paediatricians have risen by 132 per cent.

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the service looked after children across 2.5 million square kilometres from Kununurra to Albany.

“Demand growth for CDS has been far exceeding what you would expect for our population, with referrals growing at an unprecedented rate,” she said.

“This $39 million investment will pave the way for a major uplift in CDS staff, especially in clinical roles, and ensures this vital service meets the needs of WA kids and families.

“We’ll be recruiting both nationally and internationally to attract clinicians of a range of disciplines to fill these roles. This is a realistic uplift over a period of time that will see the service development.”

Part of the funding will go towards infrastructure to lease additional temporary accommodation to allow staff to see more families.

Sanderson said one of the limitations was clinical space for the treatment of children, both for the initial diagnosis and any follow-up work required.

ADHD WA has welcomed the investment, with board chairwoman Michele Toner stating some primary-aged children with the condition were waiting around two years to see a paediatrician.

“This delay in treatment onset has serious consequences for their education and their social development,” she said.

A parliamentary inquiry into the service was announced in September 2022 and remains ongoing, after the median wait time to see a paediatrician blew out to 15 months in the public sector.

Sanderson admitted the current wait times could still be more than a year in some cases.

Opposition youth spokeswoman Donna Faragher said at the time that more than 17,000 children were waiting to access specialised services in the metropolitan area alone.

And the worst bottleneck of all the state’s hospitals was at the children’s hospital for ear, nose and throat surgery, with a median wait time of 369 days.