Their family doctor agrees the child needs a specialist paediatric assessment and makes a referral.
The child is seen by the paediatrician, the assessment made and ongoing care or treatment, if needed, is organised promptly.
Great. But that is not the way it has been working for many parents and children.
More than 6000 general practitioner referrals for specialist paediatric treatment have been refused in the past three years in the Southern district. There are no winners in this.
The parents, whose concerns have been validated by their GP referral, are left wondering what to do next with their child who needs help.
The GP, who made the referral because they considered the situation needed expertise beyond theirs, is expected to somehow manage the child’s care. It is a stress our stretched GPs could do without.
The specialists, in turn, must also feel under pressure because they are being forced into the position of rationing care.
What makes this issue particularly concerning, as a briefing to Health Minister Simeon Brown last August explained, is that long wait times for children have unique impacts.
Waiting time can represent a significant portion of a child’s life and delays in assessment can harm children’s health, increase clinical risk, negatively impact family functioning, and delay access to disability support services and treatment, Mr Brown was told.
Children waiting for dental procedures may be in pain, with delayed Ear Nose and Throat treatment may have obstructed airways, poor sleep, or hearing impairment affecting language development and learning.
The lack of specialist input may mean children have multiple courses of antibiotics or hospitalisation while waiting for further treatment.
Further, delays ‘‘compound existing inequities in access to health services and children’s outcomes’’.
Part of the pressure has been the increase in children presenting with neurodevelopmental issues, something which has gone from one third of first specialist appointments in paediatric medicine before 2018 to an estimated 50-60%.
There is also limited capacity to outsource this work to the private sector with only 4% of total paediatrician full-time equivalents working in private, among the lowest of the medical specialties, the paper said.
This inadequate access to paediatric specialists in the Southern district and elsewhere highlights the ongoing short staffing problems our healthcare system is facing.
Those parents who are still waiting for referral success will be wanting assurances this will be addressed well before their children reach adulthood.
Win for Jo Galer
The people have spoken. Well, those who bothered to vote in the Dunedin City Council by-election have.
By-elections traditionally attract fewer voters than main elections, and this month’s one to replace the late Jules Radich did not buck that trend.
Although the final vote is yet to be declared, yesterday’s preliminary result shows the turnout for the by-election was 32.8% of eligible voters compared with 45.47% for the October city council election.
Congratulations to Jo Galer who won clearly, with former mayor and experienced councillor Aaron Hawkins taking second place.
The win may have been a surprise to many, who may have expected Mr Hawkins or one of the other candidates with council experience to come through.
Ms Galer, best-known as an advocate for Dunedin’s heritage, was unsuccessful in October’s election.
She began that campaign as part of Andrew Simms’ Future Dunedin team but later withdrew because she was unhappy with the management of the group.
This time round her high-profile campaign, although also not without controversy, paid off.
It will be interesting to see how Ms Galer will participate around the council table given her campaign’s alignment with Crs Russell Lund and Lee Vandervis, both known for their combative style.
Being critical and questioning is an important part of the councillor’s role, but it should not come at the expense of finding ways to work constructively with others.
The DCC, in common with other councils, is faced with the spectre of government-imposed rates caps and local body amalgamation, issues where cohesion and co-operation will be vital.
