Motor Neurone Disease South Australia

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health and Wellbeing a question regarding funding to the Motor Neurone Disease South Australia association.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: The Motor Neurone Disease South Australia (MNDSA) association is the only organisation in our state that provides dedicated support to people living with MND, their families and their carers. With the support of MNDSA, people living with MND are supported at home and kept out of hospital and respite care, relieving pressure on our strained health system and making substantial savings for our government.

The service they provide to the MND community and for our health system is invaluable, yet they are largely reliant on fundraising and donations, occasional grants and one-off funding from our government to ensure the continuation of their service. There is no support through recurrent funding, which similar organisations interstate enjoy. My question to the minister is: will the government commit to providing recurrent annual funding to MNDSA to ensure the sustainability and continuation of this important service?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his question. The Marshall government greatly appreciates its strategic partnerships with non-government organisations that provide disease-specific support to South Australians facing health challenges, and the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) association is a high-quality organisation.

Certainly, during this term of the government, my understanding is that the Premier made a grant to MND to support their work in relation to equipment. Certainly, it is my recollection that through the Palliative Care Grants Program the health portfolio also made a contribution to the organisation. In terms of what I might call the interface with the NDIS program, my understanding is that SA Health worked with the NDIS to encourage more rapid access to supports under the scheme.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Complex support pathway.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Yes. The minister responsible for disability services is talking about the complex care pathways, and my understanding is that there have been significant improvements to make it easier for people with MND to access NDIS support. Of course, one of the tragedies of MND is how short the window is in terms of life expectancy. All of us, when we are facing challenges such as disability, would want to have our needs assessed and dealt with expeditiously. It is doubly important that that is the case in relation to people with MND.

The MND association, of course, highlights to me that not all people with MND are diagnosed with the condition under the age of 65, so many of the patients will not actually be eligible for NDIS support. That is a challenge, at both the commonwealth and the state level, to provide appropriate support to MND. Certainly, the state government is keen to support ongoing partnerships with non-government organisations.

We greatly appreciate the support that the public gives in terms of donations and the like. It is our intention to partner with organisations and provide funding where we are able, but the reality is that we will never be able to meet all the requests that we receive in the context of MND, as we have seen with the equipment grant and the palliative care grants. This government holds MND with respect and will certainly give any requests for funding respectful consideration.