Childhood Immunisation

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:55): My question is directed to the Minister for Health. Minister, how is the Women's and Children's Hospital working to improve immunisation coverage in the community?

Mr Wingard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mitchell is warned a second and final time.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:55): I would like to thank the member for Ashford for her question. We are very fortunate to live in a First World country where the diseases that our grandparents and great-grandparents faced are no longer part of everyday life, but that means we can become complacent about immunisation. Australia has a comparatively high vaccination rate and, since community-wide immunisation began in 1932, the burden of disease has fallen substantially in our country.

However, this year alone, there have been 11 confirmed cases of measles and more than 1,500 confirmed cases of whooping cough in South Australia. The evidence shows that there remain pockets of our community where vaccine coverage rates remain very low and, in some cases, are actually declining. In fact, there are a number of regions in Australia where immunisation rates remain so low that an outbreak of disease would not be able to be prevented if an infection took hold. We also know that more than 84,000 children aged two, one in five across Australia, were not fully immunised last financial year.

The good news is that in South Australia we have made significant strides in increasing vaccination rates. Some of our local regions even boast the best vaccination rates in the country. However, some metropolitan suburbs still record low immunisation rates. It is clear our work to improve immunisation coverage and its perceived value in our community has to continue, and that is where initiatives like the Immunisation Clinic at the Women's and Children's Hospital, which I was recently invited to help officially open, has a unique role to play in our community.

The creation of a highly visible, one-stop immunisation shop makes it easy for our children and women to have their immunisations. The clinic is focusing on reaching children with chronic illness and disability who miss out on routine vaccinations as their complex care needs often take prime attention. However, all the inpatients and outpatients of the Women's and Children's Hospital will be able to receive any of the vaccines on the national immunisation schedule.

As well as the actual delivery of vaccinations, the clinic also has a key role in improving health literacy and helping bust some of the myths about immunisation. So far, the clinic has seen 50 patients in its first two weeks, and it is expected this will continue to grow considerably. Can I extend my congratulations to all those involved in setting up this clinic. I am very proud that the Women's and Children's Health Network is taking a national lead in establishing an in-hospital based immunisation clinic that offers this dedicated service.