MORE INDIGENOUS CHILDREN TO BE SCREENED FOR EAR DISEASE

The Bligh Government will inject an extra $4.4 million over three years to double the number of indigenous children screened for Chronic Otitis Media or ‘glue ear’ disease.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson said the Bligh Government was intervening early to tackle the disease which is highly prevalent in indigenous populations across Queensland.

“Glue ear can be a devastating illness,” Mr Robertson said.

“It can set in very early in an indigenous child’s development and can have disastrous effects on their learning, social wellbeing, and behaviour.

“Glue ear can inflict permanent damage to a child’s hearing if it’s not detected early.

“Around 75 per cent of children screened in indigenous communities, some as young as 6 months old, have varying degrees of the illness.

“The World Health Organisation considers 4 per cent in a population to be above acceptable levels.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are at least 10 times more likely to suffer from glue ear than non-indigenous children.

“The Bligh Government is tackling this problem head on.

“Queensland Health currently screens around 2,000 indigenous children up to the age of 18 a year – we’ll double that to around 4,000 children."

Mr Robertson said the funding would support increased screening and surveillance across indigenous communities and ensure that planned interventions, including speech pathology, audiology, health promotion and Ear, Nose and Throat services, are provided to rural and remote communities.

“It will continue the roll-out of training for indigenous health workers and nurses in the screening and management of the condition as well as health education and promotion activities,” he said.

“The new funding will also allow the intervention and treatment required for diagnosed glue ear cases .

“This is a vital initiative that will ultimately translate to much better health and learning outcomes for our indigenous populations,” Mr Robertson said.

MEDIA: Catherine Goldie on 0417 728 676