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Health checks to be set up at Bunbury childcare, libraries to boost attendance

Bunbury Herald
WA Country Health Service Speech Pathologist Carmi Louw with a South West toddler.
Camera IconWA Country Health Service Speech Pathologist Carmi Louw with a South West toddler. Credit: Supplied / Supplied

South West nurses will be bringing check-ups to childcare centres and libraries as part of a new pilot, after a drop was recorded in the number of young children attending health checks.

WA Country Health Service found in 2019-20, 60 per cent of one-year-old children attended their universal child health check and 43 per cent attended when they turned two.

The pilot will see child health nurses meet parents and carers at convenient locations such as childcare centres, Bunbury Library, playgroups and primary schools to make health checks easier and more accessible for local parents.

Clinical nurse specialist Karina Ayers said the additional locations were working to increase accessibility and help address the low percentage of one and two-year-olds who present for screenings.

“This pilot aims to increase those figures by making it more convenient for parents and carers to get their little ones checked so we can work with them on achieving important development milestones in communication, physical development, problem solving and social-emotional wellbeing,” she said.

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“We can even meet with families in their own home depending on their needs.”

WACHS universal health checks are free and can help families get referrals to other health professionals who specialise in child development.

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