General News
27 February, 2025
Unique Wimmera specialist care lost to young patients through funding cut
Rural children should not be disadvantaged due to the tyranny of distance
Funding for the successful By Five Wimmera Southern Mallee Early Years Initiative, which provides specialist care through a local rural GP, has been cut.
Parents with young children will be on long waiting lists to see a pediatrician. Without this program, rural patients will be denied early and vital support for their long-term development.
By Five is a place-based community collaboration unique to the Wimmera designed to ensure every WSM child succeeds in learning and life.
Due to the funding cuts, no new referrals will be accepted after February, and patients will go on waiting lists for specialist care for up to a year, even for urgent cases.
Current patients must access alternative medical care and join long waiting lists for specialist appointments.
Horsham GP Dr Felix Ritson said he had witnessed the program's success firsthand, and to lose the funding is a significant loss to the children who need it most.
"Our rural children should not be disadvantaged due to the tyranny of distance," he said.
"The By Five project provides paediatric care from the Royal Children's Hospital through the rural patients' local GP, so they don't have to travel to a major city to access vital care."
"Besides making this care available to rural patients, the waiting list for paediatric care is greatly reduced. By Five benefits everyone because diagnosis and appropriate support can be implemented early."
"Quality early years service in the quantity required for children to thrive in a supportive community environment need to be available as early as possible and be consistently available," he said.
Emily Boddi believes without the By Five project, her family would still be in limbo, and her son Hunter wouldn't have had the early support he needed before beginning school.
Hunter is the eldest of two delightful little boys, Ollie and Hunter.
Emily said that while she knew Hunter needed specialist support when he was very young, the waiting list to see a paediatrician was long.
"Without a diagnosis, we could not apply for NDIS, and without a paediatrician, we could not get a diagnosis," she said.
But the By Five Project changed that.
"We have appointments with Dr Ritson in Horsham, who dials into the Royal Children's Hospital paediatricians.
"As they talk us through the appointment, simultaneously, Dr Ritson is doing the checks and writing prescriptions and referrals in the surgery.
"We have been able to access speech therapy for Hunter, a sleep study will be next and various other support needs that have made an enormous difference.
"We were able to begin supporting Hunter within a two to three months time frame instead of two to three years, and that meant he had the support in place that he needed," she said.
Archie Vincent is almost 12 years old, has been under the care of a paediatrician since birth and has required numerous surgeries.
Mum Michelle Duffy said before By Five, Archie's medical care was transient at best, but since the availability of the project, she has been able to make an appointment with Dr Ritson in Horsham and with regular Zoom meetings with the paediatricians at the Royal Children's Hospital, they have had access to immediate care locally.
"Having this appointment with Dr Ritson has saved many trips to Melbourne, and we have had a holistic model of care with a doctor who knows us in conjunction with the specialist online.
"Dr Ritson can order the blood tests and anything the paediatrician needs, so it's a holistic approach in a rural setting," she said.
Ms Duiffy said she wants that care available to all families in rural Victoria after seeing how much it has helped Archie.
Ms Duffy said there is still a two-year waiting list for a paediatrician in some areas of the Wimmera.
"The loss of the By Five project will disadvantage many Wimmera children," she said.
By Five represents five local government areas, Hindmarsh Shire, Horsham Rural City, Northern Grampians National Park v Shire, West Wimmera Shire and Yarriambiack Shire, working together to improve outcomes across five developmental domains, as measured at school entry through the Australian Early Development census.
By Five advocates for funding options with the government and key partners to maintain the service that supports rural children and the rural workforce.