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Northern Territory National Emergency Response - Questions and Answers

Questions and answers about the emergency response in the Northern Territory

• Q&A Drug and Alcohol Initiative

• Q&A Child Health Checks

Drug and Alcohol Initiative

Why is this necessary?

The Little Children are Sacred report identified alcohol as a key issue in situations of violence and abuse. Legislation has been put in place to restrict access to alcohol on Aboriginal land. These restrictions mean the sale, possession, transportation and consumption of alcohol is banned in prescribed areas. In addition, monitoring of take-away sales across the Northern Territory will be implemented.

The introduction of alcohol restrictions as part of the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Bill 2007 took effect on 15 September 2007.

What is being done to manage the effects of alcohol withdrawal?

The Department of Health and Ageing has implemented a package of measures to address the need to increase withdrawal and other treatment and rehabilitation services across the Northern Territory. These measures include:

• provision of hospital beds for medical detoxification;
• establishing Drug and Alcohol Response Teams;
• increasing capacity to existing drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services.
• establishing a 1800 hotline to provide immediate drug and alcohol clinical advice to health professionals; and
• distributing the Alcohol and Treatment Guidelines for Indigenous Australians to all Aboriginal primary health care services in the Northern Territory.

What else is being done?

Under the existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Substance Use Program, funding is currently provided to 11 drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services in the Northern Territory.

In addition, further funding is being provided to the Northern Territory to increase drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services in regional and remote Aboriginal communities.
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Child Health Checks

Why is this necessary?

Health checks for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the age of 16 years are a component of the Emergency Response in the Northern Territory.

What is the Department doing as part of the Emergency Response?

The Department of Health and Ageing has been allocated funding for:

• Child health checks and associated follow-up and specialist services; and
• Expansion of drug and alcohol services.

Who are on the Child Health Check Teams?

Child Health Check teams include a doctor and up to three nurses and administrative support staff who work in conjunction with local health services. The Child Health Check teams are located within the community and are deployed for a period of two to three weeks, depending upon the need and size of the community.

What does a Child Health Check involve?

Child health checks take a history of medical conditions, including general health, immunisations, development. This is age specific, so changes for different age cohorts. For children age 12-16, questions about alcohol, tobacco, other substances, mood, self-harm and sexual health (if indicated) apply. Social history such as living conditions is also covered.

This is a comprehensive examination similar to a thorough check-up by a general practitioner, height, weight, eyes, ears, teeth, skin, heart sounds, lungs, abdomen but including some other things like a finger prick blood test for Haemoglobin level (anaemia), and possibly glucose (diabetes) in older children.

Will children be taken away from their family if abuse is found?

If in the course of the child health check there is evidence of sexual abuse then reporting occurs as per mandatory requirements in the Northern Territory. It is important to understand that reporting to child protection authorities could be for a range of child safety and wellbeing issues, not just child sexual abuse.

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