Mr MATT KEAN (Hornsby) [4.24 p.m.]: I support the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2013. Several amendments are proposed in this bill, but I will focus my attention on the amendments proposed to the Health Care Complaints Act 1993. A strong, robust Health Care Complaints Commission is important in keeping our health system accountable to the public.
Indeed, I recently chaired an inquiry into keeping public administration accountable to the public and I have seen the benefits in the area of land valuations and taxation—the health area is no different. The role of the Health Care Complaints Commission is to ensure that healthcare providers and other organisations that provide health services are accountable for the standards they maintain and for the impact they have on individuals and communities. That is why it is so important to make the Health Care Complaints Commission more robust and to give it greater powers with which to hold healthcare providers to account.
In Australian Vaccination Network Inc. v Health Care Complaints Commission the Health Care Complaints Commission was sued by a group that misleadingly calls itself the Australian Vaccination Network. The idea behind the use of that name is to convey the impression of balance and objectivity as to issues and questions on vaccination; nothing could be further from the truth. In reality the Australian Vaccination Network is a group of flat-earthers and wing-nuts who believe that vaccination is unnecessary. Indeed, the group has claimed that vaccination is harmful to individuals, which is contrary to all the scientific evidence. Immunisation and vaccination are important.
It is well known today that communities have benefited immensely from immunisation being widely available. Many infectious diseases such as diphtheria, measles, polio, tetanus and whooping cough were once frequent causes of death or serious illness in New South Wales but that is no longer the case because of a bipartisan approach to ensuring immunisation is widely available in this country. The other day I saw on Lateline the impact of these flat-earthers on Scotland, where there is an outbreak of whooping cough. The member for Parramatta called them wing-nuts—there seems to be a view in this Parliament that that may be the case. Preventable diseases could have been contained if immunisation had been widespread in that country.
Immunisation programs introduced over the past 70 years have resulted in significant reductions in infectious diseases. Immunisation programs are not only historical; new vaccines introduced in recent years have also protected countless children and adults against chickenpox, pneumonia, meningococcal disease and, more recently, cervical cancer but we still have a long way to go. This bill will enable consumers to complain to the Government not only about health information that has adversely affected their health but also about information that they deem is likely to cause harm in the community.
In the case of the misleadingly named Australian Vaccination Network Inc. v Health Care Complaints Commission it was said that complaints could be made only if the health service in question affected the clinical management or care of an individual client. In that case no individual client had been affected. These amendments seek to broaden the scope of the Health Care Complaints Commission to investigate matters of benefit to the community and to improve the accountability of our health system across the State. The Australian Vaccination Network challenged a public warning issued by the Health Care Complaints Commission in response to a complaint made by a member of the public about misleading health information distributed on the Australian Vaccination Network website.
The Health Care Complaints Commission deemed that the website provided information that was solely anti-vaccination, contained information that is incorrect and misleading, and quoted selectively from research to suggest that vaccination may be dangerous. As a result the Health Care Complaints Commission directed the Australian Vaccination Network to publish a disclaimer indicating that its information is purely anti-vaccination and should not be construed as medical advice. That seems to be a reasonable position for professional medical experts who are concerned about public health outcomes in this State.
The Australian Vaccination Network wanted to use a loophole in legislation to continue to peddle these myths in the community, which would have an adverse impact on public health. This bill seeks to close that loophole. I commend the Minister for Health—she is an outstanding Minister for Health. Residents in my community of Hornsby know only too well the positive impact of the Minister since she took on the role. We are delighted with the investment of $120 million and the provision of the best healthcare services in Hornsby. I am excited about the new Hornsby Hospital redevelopment occurring later this year. This bill is yet another example of Minister Skinner's commitment to improving public health outcomes in New South Wales. She is not only improving infrastructure for communities across the State but also improving public health outcomes by making the independent oversight body, the Health Care Complaints Commission, more robust, more accountable and more transparent so that members of the public can benefit from this organisation.
The proposed changes amending section 7 of the Health Care Complaints Act make clear that a complaint can be made against a health service if the health service affects, or is likely to affect, the clinical management or care of an individual client. It will also ensure that the Health Care Complaints Commission is able to investigate claims that it deems to cause harm on the broader scale. So it does not need to impact only an individual. This is a move in the right direction. Minister Skinner should be congratulated on her continued hard work in improving public health in New South Wales. She is an outstanding Minister: unquestionably she is one of the finest Ministers we have seen in this State. Again I put on the public record my commitment to ensuring that we reduce infectious disease in this State and that we do so by rolling out and strengthening immunisation programs.
I note that vaccination for key vaccines is free for children in New South Wales. Roughly $135 million is being invested by both the New South Wales and Commonwealth governments in 2012-13 to maintain and improve the high vaccination coverage rates for children, adolescents and adults to keep people healthy and out of hospital. I note that tomorrow I will get my influenza vaccination. I encourage other members to inoculate themselves against the flu. Immunisation provides good protection for individual children who are vaccinated. It also indirectly protects through herd immunity those children who are too young to be vaccinated. Again I congratulate Minister Skinner on her excellent work in promoting public health in New South Wales, improving public health in New South Wales and improving infrastructure for health service delivery in this State.
Read the full transcript of the debate in Hansard here.
