Dr LIM - 1997-02-26
There has been much debate recently about immunisation, on The 7.30 Report last Monday and in an extensive article in The Bulletin of 18 February. It appears to me, as a doctor, that many parents do not understand the value of immunisation and the many lives it saves. Yesterday, the federal Minister for Health and Family Services announced a 7-point plan to improve immunisation levels among children. What is the situation in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I understand the honourable member's concern, as a doctor, about the level of immunisation. I am pleased that this matter is receiving national attention because I think many people in Australia are becoming blas‚ about immunisation, in the belief that modern medicine can fix almost everything. While I do not think that parents would knowingly put their children at risk, a double problem, based on ignorance, is occurring throughout Australia. There is a belief among parents that the childhood diseases that we immunise against are no longer a threat. That stems from the fact that very few of today's parents of young children would have seen the effects of such diseases as polio, rubella or whooping cough. There is also a belief that any of these diseases can be treated easily with modern medicine.
There is a very good story to be told in the Northern Territory because we have the best rate of immunisation in Australia. While I applaud some of the initiatives my federal colleague is outlining, the nation could take note of our success in the Territory. The Commonwealth could probably hasten slowly in coming up with an overall strategy. The immunisation rate is excellent in the Territory because we take the matter seriously. We have doctors, nurses and health workers in paediatrics, disease control and community health who are strongly committed to immunisation as a form of preventive medicine. The department sent me a selection of brochures this morning which relate to the value of immunisation both for children and adults, and some specifically for Aboriginal people. I table them for the interest of honourable members.
We also provide assistance to those groups in the Territory that mount individual campaigns. Our most recent success in this area was assistance to the Deafness Association for the publication of a video for migrants on the dangers of rubella. This initiative won a national Jenner Award, which is a great source of pride for the Deafness Association and the Northern Territory government, and also Mary Salter, who subsequently received an Order of Australia Medal for that work. Today, I approved a further $2000 to assist her with the promulgation of this message.
Another fact worth remembering is that the Northern Territory was the first state or territory, by at least 6 years, to introduce universal hepatitis B vaccinations for neonates. The Territory had the highest rate of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB disease) in Australia, and now has the lowest. We have an action plan to reach the most susceptible members of the community, up to 30 years of age, during outbreaks of measles and we have funded pneumococcal vaccine and infrastructure to deliver to all of those at risk from
Page 1966
pneumococcal disease. We have a program of nurses visiting mothers and their newborn babies at home in the urban centres, and opportunistic immunisation at our baby clinics when mothers visit for the first check-ups for their babies. We provide continuing education for Aboriginal mothers and we are proud of the very high rates of immunisation among Aboriginal Territorians.
Childhood immunisation is receiving national attention following the 1995 Australian Bureau of Statistics report that indicates that only 53% of Australian children 0-6 years are fully immunised for their age. These data, along with the recent deaths of children interstate from whooping cough, are being used by federal ministers to drive new initiatives to increase the immunisation uptake. Thanks to the efforts that I have outlined, preliminary data from the Northern Territory indicate that coverage for children 0-6 years of age is almost 80% across the board, and approaches 100% in some rural and remote communities. The remaining challenges we need to address now are to ensure access to immunisation services among hard-to-reach groups is improved and to educate both the public and vaccine providers about the true risks and the benefits of immunisation thus enabling parents to make an informed choice to immunise their children. In line with that, I have received approval from Cabinet for the drafting of a policy to exclude non-immunised children from school in the event of an outbreak. Together with the federal minister's initiatives, I believe this will help to put the message across to Australians of the value of protecting their children through immunisation.
Page 1967
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I understand the honourable member's concern, as a doctor, about the level of immunisation. I am pleased that this matter is receiving national attention because I think many people in Australia are becoming blas‚ about immunisation, in the belief that modern medicine can fix almost everything. While I do not think that parents would knowingly put their children at risk, a double problem, based on ignorance, is occurring throughout Australia. There is a belief among parents that the childhood diseases that we immunise against are no longer a threat. That stems from the fact that very few of today's parents of young children would have seen the effects of such diseases as polio, rubella or whooping cough. There is also a belief that any of these diseases can be treated easily with modern medicine.
There is a very good story to be told in the Northern Territory because we have the best rate of immunisation in Australia. While I applaud some of the initiatives my federal colleague is outlining, the nation could take note of our success in the Territory. The Commonwealth could probably hasten slowly in coming up with an overall strategy. The immunisation rate is excellent in the Territory because we take the matter seriously. We have doctors, nurses and health workers in paediatrics, disease control and community health who are strongly committed to immunisation as a form of preventive medicine. The department sent me a selection of brochures this morning which relate to the value of immunisation both for children and adults, and some specifically for Aboriginal people. I table them for the interest of honourable members.
We also provide assistance to those groups in the Territory that mount individual campaigns. Our most recent success in this area was assistance to the Deafness Association for the publication of a video for migrants on the dangers of rubella. This initiative won a national Jenner Award, which is a great source of pride for the Deafness Association and the Northern Territory government, and also Mary Salter, who subsequently received an Order of Australia Medal for that work. Today, I approved a further $2000 to assist her with the promulgation of this message.
Another fact worth remembering is that the Northern Territory was the first state or territory, by at least 6 years, to introduce universal hepatitis B vaccinations for neonates. The Territory had the highest rate of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB disease) in Australia, and now has the lowest. We have an action plan to reach the most susceptible members of the community, up to 30 years of age, during outbreaks of measles and we have funded pneumococcal vaccine and infrastructure to deliver to all of those at risk from
Page 1966
pneumococcal disease. We have a program of nurses visiting mothers and their newborn babies at home in the urban centres, and opportunistic immunisation at our baby clinics when mothers visit for the first check-ups for their babies. We provide continuing education for Aboriginal mothers and we are proud of the very high rates of immunisation among Aboriginal Territorians.
Childhood immunisation is receiving national attention following the 1995 Australian Bureau of Statistics report that indicates that only 53% of Australian children 0-6 years are fully immunised for their age. These data, along with the recent deaths of children interstate from whooping cough, are being used by federal ministers to drive new initiatives to increase the immunisation uptake. Thanks to the efforts that I have outlined, preliminary data from the Northern Territory indicate that coverage for children 0-6 years of age is almost 80% across the board, and approaches 100% in some rural and remote communities. The remaining challenges we need to address now are to ensure access to immunisation services among hard-to-reach groups is improved and to educate both the public and vaccine providers about the true risks and the benefits of immunisation thus enabling parents to make an informed choice to immunise their children. In line with that, I have received approval from Cabinet for the drafting of a policy to exclude non-immunised children from school in the event of an outbreak. Together with the federal minister's initiatives, I believe this will help to put the message across to Australians of the value of protecting their children through immunisation.
Page 1967
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016