APY LANDS, CHILDREN'S HEALTH SERVICES

488 Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (4 December 2012). How many school-aged children living on the APY Lands, Yalata and Oak Valley in 2012 were—

(a) assessed as having Otitis Media;

(b) found to have one or more perforated eardrums; and

(c) received surgical treatment to address one or more perforated eardrums?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs): I understand that:

(a) Otitis Media is an infection of the middle ear and these infections are common in children, particularly young children. Recurrent and persistent ear infections can and do cause hearing loss. Otitis Media is more common and often more persistent in Aboriginal children in remote Aboriginal communities, and in the APY Lands in particular.

Nganampa Health Council, which provides primary health care services across the APY Lands, has indicated that around 340 school aged children have symptoms of ear disease.

(b) A study conducted by Flinders University in 2010-11 An Evaluation of the benefits of swimming pools for the hearing and ear health of young Indigenous Australians. A whole of population study across multiple remote Indigenous Communities found that, over six visits, an average of 285 children (82 percent) had no perforated eardrums, 40 children (11 per cent) had one perforated eardrum, and 25 children (6.9 percent) had two perforated eardrums.

(c) To date, nine children have had surgical procedures to mend perforations, and a further five have received other types of procedures under anaesthetic (such as adenoidectomies and removal of debris). Over the next 12 months it is around 30 children from the APY Lands will receive ear surgery in Port Augusta.