By Casey Neill
Casey parents are urged to take advantage of additional free health checkups for their babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
The City of Casey has increased its Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Service nursing team and added Saturday appointments to accommodate children who’ve missed their two and three-and-a-half checks.
The MCH service offers 10 appointments at key stages to support families with child health information and developmental checks, including height, weight, speech, motor skills, and social and emotional development.
Nurses provide guidance on feeding, sleep, toilet training, and behaviour, as well as advice and any referrals required on oral health, hearing, vision, and more.
Councillor Michelle Crowther said MCH access was one of the key issues that led her to stand for election.
“These vital assessments provide families with an opportunity to check their child’s growth, development, and overall wellbeing, helping to identify and address any concerns early,” she said.
Cr Crowther spoke out about nurse and appointment shortages and decreased participation in MCH appointments in March 2024.
A mother and women’s health physiotherapist, she said the services were critical for detecting early developmental disorders, like hip dysplasia.
“And by not having that diagnosed early and not getting the right treatment early, that’s something that will affect that child for the rest of their life,” she said.
Casey MCH nurse Jessica Coenen said Covid had a big impact, “not just for the City of Casey but statewide as a whole”.
“We were finding lots of councils were reducing their capacity to only meet with vulnerable families and new babies,” she said.
“We were then finding, because of that, families weren’t reengaging because they didn’t understand the service was back up and running.
“Some kids, they haven’t been seen for a long time.
“There are things that might not have been picked up, like speech concerns, hearing concerns, and ASD traits.
“At our three-and-a-half-year check, we do a basic vision test, looking for squints and eyes turning in and out.
“We want to have our appointments filled and we want to see these families.
“We’re trying to make it as accessible as possible.”
Jessica said cost-of-living pressures meant parents were returning to work sooner and working more hours, limiting their availability to attend appointments, and some didn’t have access to transport.
“What we’ve done is open up more Saturdays so that we are hitting and targeting our two-plus-year-olds,” Jessica said.
“We’re doubling our workforce on a Saturday to run five-hour sessions.
“We have done a massive recruitment drive. We are the biggest service of MCH nurses in the state.
“We also have the largest growth.”
More than 5700 babies were born to Casey families in the past financial year, with 6000 predicted next year.
“We are offered to every single child in the City of Casey,” she said.
The team also links families with the Dads Matter program, offers a lactation drop-in clinic, and has a sleep and settling team.
“We run online sleep and settling sessions, which we came up with throughout Covid to be accessible,” Jessica said.
“Then we have a team that can go out and visit the family at home – during daylight hours – and can do more tailored work with families.”
The MCHNs look out for signs of family violence, relationship breakdown, and financial concerns, and can refer parents to other services.
“We are a family service so we’re also looking for family dynamic issues,” she said.
The team works with LanguageLoop to cater to parents who speak a language other than English.
“We have also started a first-time parents group in Dari in Doveton,” Jessica said.
“We’re trying to meet as much community need as we can.
“A lot of families who’ve moved to Australia, their extended family lives overseas.
“They haven’t built their community here.
“Accessing our service is so important.”
To make an appointment, call 9705 5590, Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm.
Visit www.casey.vic.gov.au/maternal-child-health-services for more information.
