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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (18 April) . . Page.. 1148 ..
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
Question No. 194
Postnatal Depression Services
In relation to the report - Better Coordination, Better Continuity, Strengthening the Role of the General Practitioner in Postnatal Depression Services in the ACT - prepared by the ACT Division of General Practice - Has the Government implemented the recommendations of the report; in particular
(1) what action has the Government taken to allow General Practitioners to admit their patients to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital and to provide acute inpatient care and follow up community care;
(2) what has the Government done to establish a stakeholder working party, where the interests and concerns of general practitioners and all other providers related to a multidisciplinary teamwork can be sorted out; and
(3) has the Government established the service liaison officer position?
Mrs Carnell - the answer to the Members question is:
1.& (2) The Department of Health and Community Care has set up a Postnatal Services Advisory Committee which has broad representation including a paediatrician and a representative from the Division of General Practice. All issues concerned with admissions are currently being reviewed. This committee is also investigating ways of providing better coordinated, integrated community based postnatal care. It is anticipated that there will be a significant role for General Practitioners in the restructured postnatal services, however this will not be known until the completion of the new service model.
3. The report recommends the establishment of a service liaison officer position to be responsible for establishing shared care arrangements between general practitioners and community nurses, particularly those providing care from Family Care Centres. Many aspects of the report link in with the work currently being undertaken by the Advisory Committee. In planning the new service model, the Department has appointed a Postnatal Services Senior Project Officer who is coordinating all aspects of the Postnatal Services restructuring.
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