Bushkids working in Queensland

Promoting the health and well-being of children and families with children aged to 13 years in rural and remote locations in Queensland.

BUSHkids will:

Provide high quality, cost effective health services at centres located in identified regions throughout Queensland.
Provide a skilled team of professionals comprising of Psychologists, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and Family Health Support Workers.
Provide a range of early intervention services which address the ongoing physical, psychological and developmental well-being of children who live in rural and remote areas of Queensland.
Develop programs and services focused on imparting information to families so that they are better able to understand and meet the needs of their children during their formative years.
Develop innovative approaches to health services delivery including new programs to meet the health needs of indigenous children.

Learn more here: http://www.bushkids.org.au/

Waikids in New Zealand

Waikato District Health Board now has ‘Waikids’ uniting all Waikato child and youth health services.

Integration of care comes from the community to acute care with good working relationships between professionals who continue to provide a child-friendly service.

Click here for more information.

New Zealand: Parents of disabled child win important court battle

Parents of disabled children have won a battle after a court found they were being discriminated against by the Health Ministry.

Extract from New Zealand’s Dominion Post’s website dated 14/5/2012:

The Court of Appeal today dismissed the Ministry of Health’s appeal against a finding that its current policy of not allowing parents of disabled children to be paid carers is discriminatory.

The court hearing in February was told only rough estimates had been done of what it would cost if the ministry paid parents to care for disabled children.

The estimates varied from a low of $17 million to a high of $593m.

The ministry says it does not know how many parents would want take up the option to be a paid carer.

It is understood the ministry could continue the fight to the Supreme Court.

The case, which began in 1999, has already cost the ministry and Crown Law more than $1m.

The ministry says it formulated the policy because of concerns including how much it would cost, the ability to monitor the quality of family members as caregivers, the consequences of a family being reliant on the disabled person for income.

Go to the full article here.

Parental and carer expertise sought for New Zealand research

Janet McDonald, a PhD student (and a parent of a disabled child) is seeking research participants who have first-hand knowledge of technical health procedures. She writes:

You are invited to take part in a study about family carers who are doing technical health procedures at home. Family carers are people who help or support a family member who is ill, disabled or frail elderly.

Technical health procedures include such things as –

- - renal dialysis
  - urinary catheterisation
  - intravenous therapy
  - injections
  - caring for a bowel or bladder stoma/ostomy
  - enteral or parenteral nutrition (e.g. PEG feeding or naso-gastric tube feeding)
  - managing a tracheostomy, ventilator or oxygen therapy
  - enemas or bowel washouts
  - wound care and dressings
  - some physiotherapy procedures.

We don't know much about what it's like for (largely) 'lay' people to take on managing these kinds of procedures, or how professionals like nurses teach them. The purpose of this research is to find out about carers' experiences and learning in order to inform professionals about how they can best support family carers in this situation.

Would you be willing to be interviewed about your experiences? If so, and to find out more about the study, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.