Hume City Council’s commitment to Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services is being extended to make sure they’re available to everyone thanks to our innovative Maternal and Child Health van.
MCH staff work hard to ensure the 3,700 babies born in Hume every year get the best start in life, and we hope this van will mean nobody misses out on that right.
Hume City Council’s Maternal and Child Health nurses, midwives are achieving this through the MCH van – the only van of its kind currently operating in Victoria.
The van is designed to assist parents and carers in vulnerable communities, and those already using council’s services in a play-based way at child friendly locations such as play groups and childcare – environments where they feel comfortable.
The MCH van and its staff are putting this into action, having taken it to the Craigieburn Festival, Sunbury and Craigieburn playgroup week and to the Boorais and Beyond Playgroup in Craigieburn every Tuesday where the largely Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group are provided free early life check-ups for their children.
Seeing mostly three- and four-year-olds at the playgroup, Maternal and Child Health Nurse Gayle Branderello says they’re also 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.”
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.
By hitting the streets and taking the van to where it’s needed most, the MCH van is breaking down those walls, visiting locations where parents and carers feel comfortable to make pre-booked appointments for the 10 key ages and stages in a child’s life.
And as a first for Victoria, this van is also breaking the mould.
Quotes attributable to Mayor of Hume City, Councillor Joseph Haweil:
“The Maternal and Child Health van is a game changer for families finding it difficult to access critical services at the key stages of their child’s development.”
“I’m proud that Hume City is the first Victorian local council to offer a service of this kind which supports the diverse needs of families in Hume, particularly our vulnerable and multicultural groups who face barriers to the health care our children deserve.”
