Ministerial Statement

Inner City Street Crew

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:11): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: In response to an increase in the number of people sleeping rough in the inner city, the state government had funded a collaboration between government and non-government agencies, including the Hutt St Centre, Baptist Care, Service to Youth Council, Uniting Communities and Housing SA, called the Inner City Street Crew. The street crew is designed to provide an immediate response to people sleeping rough within the Adelaide CBD and surrounding Parklands by identifying and connecting people rough sleeping to appropriate health, housing and homelessness support services through assertive street work.

The street crew operates seven days a week from the hours of 1pm to 7pm. They are easily identifiable with orange shirts that include the street crew brand and logos of participating agencies. Incorporated into the street crew is the Streetlink Plus program, which provides health and medical services. This component is operated by Uniting Communities and officially commenced service on 3 April 2017.

The Streetlink Plus program operates out of Pitt Street in Adelaide and provides medical interventions by general practitioners and registered nurses. GP services can include medical assessments and treatment, health checks, reproductive and sexual health care, and shared care outcomes. The program can be accessed by people sleeping rough through office-based and street work services.

The RN service can include clinical assessments, medication compliance, wound care, respiratory function, blood sugar level tests, nutrition and hydration assessments, immunisation and flu vaccinations, a clean needle program, and education and harm reduction for risks including obesity, substance use and smoking. There is also a trained mental health nurse with the potential to undertake assessments who has experience in comorbidity issues, such as alcohol, other drugs and mental health.

In the first month of operation, the service provided 120 hours from a mental health nurse in collaboration with the street crew and 10 hours from a general practitioner, provided as assertive outreach and accompanied by a mental health nurse. The medical treatments provided to date include mental health state examinations, referrals to health services (such as the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress), plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and SA dental services. Prescriptions were also supplied by the GP and filled at no cost to the rough sleeper.

These services have been delivered in the following city locations: the South and West Parklands, Hindley Street, South Terrace, Pulteney Street, Rundle Street, the Central Bus Station, North Terrace, Rymill Park and Pirie Street. This is an excellent initiative which aims to ensure that medical support is made available to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. I am pleased to be hosting the National Housing and Homelessness Ministers' meeting in Adelaide tomorrow where we will be addressing the issues of the national policy framework.