Hume council’s maternal and child health services are being expanded with the use of a mobile van program.
The maternal and child health van is designed to assist parents and carers in vulnerable communities, and those already using council’s services at child-friendly locations.
The van was taken to the Craigieburn Festival, Sunbury and Craigieburn playgroup week and to the Boorais and Beyond Playgroup in Craigieburn where the largely Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group was provided with free check-ups for their children.
Seeing mostly three and four-year-olds at the playgroup, maternal and child health nurse Gayle Branderello said they are able to meet ongoing needs in the van as they explore its potential.
“A person may come along and say, ‘my child has had their assessment done but since then has started stuttering,’ so then we would look at that and if it’s something to be worried about,” Ms Branderello said.
There are a number of barriers Hume’s vulnerable communities face when accessing critical care for their child’s development, including being unaware of services particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse groups, being unable to afford or travel to a service, and mistrust of professionals.
However, this van is attempting to break down these barriers by allowing the checkups to take place in places where the children and parents or guardians feel comfortable.
Mayor Joseph Haweil said Hume is the first council in Victoria to offer a service like this.
“[The] van is a game changer for families finding it difficult to access critical services at the key stages of their child’s development,” Cr Haweil said.
“[It] supports the diverse needs of families in Hume, particularly our vulnerable and multicultural groups who face barriers to the health care our children deserve.”
