MEN'S HEALTH

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:34): This morning I had the pleasure of opening the Men's Health Pit-Stop Promotion at the Adelaide Produce Market at Pooraka on behalf of the Premier, Jay Weatherill. The promotion was an excellent example of how the health sector and industry sectors can work together to promote better health and well-being.

I commend the Royal Flying Doctor Service for running today's event with the tremendous support of Glaxo-Smith Klein, the Adelaide Produce Market, and the Australian Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries. The event was all about giving men's health a higher profile. This is an important cause, and close to my heart.

I would like to relate a personal story in relation to this matter. Some 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. This occurred as a result of my attending my local GP after having a series of headaches. I can recall the GP sending me off to get blood tests and a phone call one Sunday morning from my GP asking me to come to see her. She told me the test had indicated I was diabetic.

Diabetes left untreated can lead to many chronic health conditions, such as blindness, cardiovascular disease, neuropathy and myriad other conditions. I was lucky, because the condition was picked up early and now my condition is regularly monitored. Being aware of the diabetes allowed me to make some significant lifestyle changes to help prevent the complications from the disease.

There is a growing recognition that men and boys are more reluctant to face health problems than are wise women and girls. Men make only half as many visits to a GP for prevention compared with women. The stigma to seeking help is changing, but there is more to be done. The statistics are staggering.

On average, men live five years less than women (78 years compared with 83 years), and there are significant variations in the outcome amongst men. The Aboriginal male population of South Australia, in particular, fares poorest when compared with the rest of the male population with, sadly, many more premature deaths.

These patterns tell us, in a dramatic way, why events such as Pit Stop are a good way for men to be proactive about their health. There is more work being done to work out why men do not access health services as much as they should. Some of the reasons are simply practical; for example, many health services do not have opening hours that reflect men's working lives.

SA Health is working with GP services to improve health promotion, illness and injury prevention, screening and research related to primary health care. My interest is to encourage men with illnesses to access treatment before they reach a crisis point, rather than hide pain or concerns. It makes good sense to do so. We can support people to be as healthy as possible. It also saves our health system from more expensive care if we deal with things early rather than rely on emergency treatment.

What a once-a-year health check with a GP does is assess where the body is at. It is an opportunity for men to make sure that they are on track and, if not, they can get information and support to get back on track. By monitoring your health regularly and being aware of illnesses or risks in your family history, you will be more likely to catch any health issues early.

This morning, over 100 people took the challenge and put their bodies over the pits for their oil check, torsion, duco, chassis, extractor and fuel checks or, to put it simply to have a free health check of their blood pressure, flexibility, skin cancer, bowel cancer and alcohol intake. It was a delight to be part of the Pit Stop program this morning at the Adelaide produce market.