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Thursday, 29 February, 2024
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Minister bows out A retirement service on Sunday 25 February has farewelled the long-serving Minister of Hampton Park Uniting Church Reverend Frederic Holland, someone who has devoted his life to social justice programs and community sectors both in the UK and Australia. While there is sadness in the air, a new beginning awaits the 76-year-old. Story page 4
Minister of Hampton Park Uniting Church Reverend Frederic Holland Minister at his retirement service. 390737 Picture: GARY SISSONS
Newborn concern By Violet Li Casey mums are questioning when the council’s maternal health checks would be fully restored as their newborns keep missing out on critical services, despite the council claiming a full restoration from December 2023. The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) service, a free program provided by the local councils, supports families with child health information and developmental checks from birth to the age of six. The program offers 10 appointments at key stages from two weeks old to three and a half years old. Michelle Crowther, a local mother and women’s health physiotherapist, noticed many of her clients, pregnant and postnatal
women, raised concerns about their reduced MCH appointments. “I know my friend’s daughter has just had a baby and couldn’t get the visits in Casey, so she’s going to Frankston Council to get the visits done,” she said. “And then I had another patient who told me she could not get any visit about six weeks ago.” Ms Crowther understood that Casey struggled to provide the full service during Covid, but what confounded her was that Casey didn’t seem to expand the programs after Covid. Casey was one of the local councils hit hard by Covid due to nurse shortages, with a record 12 per cent decrease in participation in the
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MCH service in 2022/23. The council has worked gradually to restore the delivery of the service, with its 2022-23 Annual Report stating that ‘following a period of reduced service offering to the zero to eight week age group from October 2022, this has now increased to zero to 18 months age group at the end of June 2023’. However, Ms Crowther believed it was not entirely the case. “My clients and the feedback I received online all said their care was limited to four to 12 months and parents had not been contacted to resume visits,” she said. After raising her confusion at the February council meeting, she was told that the service
had been fully restored, but the council did acknowledge a workforce shortage. When inquired by Star News, City of Casey manager child, youth, and family Bronwyn Saffron said that the council recommenced its full MCH service from December 2023, which echoed what Ms Crowther had been told at the meeting. Baffled by the response, Ms Crowther posted posts on the local Facebook page after the meeting and a lot of new mums replied with the same experience. A mother with a 20-month-old kid did not get a call or a message for an 18-month checkup. Continued page 2
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