by Michaela Meade
Whittlesea council will advocate for more support for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services in the community.
In a report tabled at this week’s council meeting, officers responded to the Interface Councils group’s draft issues paper concerning sector challenges for MCH services.
Interface Councils is a group of 10 municipalities, including Whittlesea and Hume, that work to gain better services and infrastructure for residents.
According to the council report, there were 21,140 children aged 0-six years enrolled in Whittlesea’s MCH service between June 2020 and July 2021.
The issues paper stated six “stressors” need to be addressed for MCH services in Melbourne.
They included shortages in the MCH workforce; gaps in funding across the entire MCH model; Child Development Information System (CDIS) – a statewide record system; population growth across the growth area councils; and COVID-19 pandemic impacts.
Whittlesea council’s chair administrator Lydia Wilson said it was surprising to learn of the scope of issues faced by the MCH service.
“I thought I was really quite well informed in relation to [MCH] services,” Ms Wilson said.
“I was quite surprised and quite shocked to understand some of the current issues that are being experienced right across the whole range of [MCH] services, which is such an important service to all of our communities, not just in Victoria but nationwide.
“[I am] fully supportive of a strong advocacy approach, supporting the Interface [councils] group.”
The council will also write to all state government MPs to seek their support for its advocacy efforts, and will explore partnership opportunities with relevant educational institutions to address workforce gaps in MCH nursing.
A report with specific actions for the council to take is expected to be put forward to the administrators no later than February, 2022.
