Children's Health Services

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:19): A supplementary from the original answer: the minister quite rightly mentioned the impact on families when children are under great stress during an attendance at a hospital. Can he elaborate on the moves to reduce the level of stress for parents and the pressure on their mental health, particularly in relation to the way they deal with the hardworking staff who manage the treatment of those children and the parents' attendance at the same time?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:19): The honourable member quite rightly highlights another point, that the administration of these tests is anxiety producing not only for the child and for the parent but also for the staff. Forgive me for not recalling her name—I think her name might have been Wendy—but at the Adelaide Zoo launch there was actually the manager of the SA Pathology centre present. She spoke of what a difference it had made already in the clinic as a whole, in reducing the anxiety for staff. As you can understand, if you are a staff member holding a child while they are traumatised and distraught, that can be very upsetting.

The honourable member reminds me more of that conversation, too, because it's not just the child and not just the family and not just the staff; if you like, it is also the community. She was saying that, if one child escalates through being traumatised by a test, it will often, shall we say, set the room off. One child cries and it spreads like wildfire. I certainly agree with the honourable member: it's a benefit not just for the child but for the whole community.