The state's peak nursing union says it will consider going to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission over concerns around Child Health and Parenting Services' staffing and workload.
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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the union would consider escalating the issue after three panel meetings yielded failed to allay members' concerns.
"Our key concern at the moment is that staffing is hindering the operations of the CHaPS," Ms Shepherd said.
"It's contributing to the workload for our members, and those significant vacancies mean that there's had to be a scaling back, particularly in the North West, for two and four-year-old checks."
Ms Shepherd said there were 10 vacancies in the North West and several in the North, which had placed extra strain on members in the state's South.
Staff vacancies continue to strain service
CHaPS is a free state-wide service that provides assessments for children aged between zero and five, including check-ups to identify any developmental delays early on.
Among the union's concerns was the long-term negative impact many children in the state would experience from missed key development checkups, which had already been delayed during the pandemic.
Without early detection and intervention, Ms Shepherd said, developmental issues could permanently inhibit a child's ability to learn.
"We know with early intervention, there can be really great outcomes," Ms Shepherd said.
"An example might be interventions for children who might need some support from speech pathology, these sorts of issues can be picked up early, and rectified."
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Department of Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said the service acknowledged ANMF concerns, and said the service had experienced staffing challenges over the past 12 months due to COVID-19 and recruitment difficulties.
As a result, Ms Morgan-Wicks said, the service had adapted by including telehealth appointments where appropriate and prioritising face-to-face appointments for children under 12 months of age.
Working group will convene to find solutions
Among steps taken to address workforce issues, which Ms Morgan-Wicks said was part of a broader plan to rebuild and transform CHaPS, was moving postgraduate UTAS students working in the Tasmanian Health Service to CHaPS in a fixed-term capacity.
Other steps, to be implemented next year, include considering the grade of nurse required for particular CHaPs services and a comparison to School Nursing grading of positions; creating more post-graduate student training places as part of the UTAS Child and Family Health Nursing course; and, introducing fixed-term post-graduate roles for nursing staff with Child and Family health qualifications.
A working group meeting to address some of the issues, which was originally planned for this week, has been scheduled for next Wednesday "to accommodate the highest staff availability", according to Ms Morgan-Wicks.
Ms Shepherd said she remained hopeful the working group would address issues in relation to a new workload model for CHaPS.
However, Ms Shepherd said while Telehealth appointments were appropriate short term solutions, it was not a service that should continue on into the future.
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