Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's with great pleasure that I rise in this place today to speak about the terrific work that is done by Radio Lollipop at the Logan Hospital. Last week I had the pleasure of presenting the team at Radio Lollipop with a cheque for $50,000 to upgrade the children's ward, which is long overdue. This makeover of the children's playroom, teenager's retreat and procedure room will go a long way towards ensuring that children who are in the ward have a much better environment in which to spend their time. We know that the volunteers at Radio Lollipop have worked very hard to date to see a brighter and more welcoming children's ward, and this additional investment of $50,000 will allow them to take that to another level.

Logan Hospital is a major health centre in the Logan region, and this is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say to the team at Logan Hospital: thank you for the terrific work that you do for our community in sometimes very difficult and trying times. We saw that only recently when a couple of staff members at the hospital were injured by a patient through a stabbing. My shout-out goes to those people; I know their recovery is progressing well. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank them for the terrific work they do.

By creating these age-appropriate sanctuaries in the children's ward and the procedure room, the Radio Lollipop team is hoping to relieve some of the trauma that the children face through treatment. This important investment aims to reduce anxiety and promote, importantly, wellbeing for our younger patients, and I think that's critically important. If they have an environment in which they feel relaxed and comfortable, we hope that, as a result of that, their stay is less stressful, they heal quicker and they get home sooner to their families. The children's ward at Logan Hospital sees some 3,000 families a year, and I think this will be a tremendous improvement to those services.

The other announcement we made last week was an additional $520,000 in funding to the Individual Placement and Support Trial at the headspace at Meadowbrook. Sadly, as many as one in four young Australians aged 16 to 24 experience mental illness in any given year. This can really impact on their ability to get or hold a job. This trial, which has been a terrific success, has made a real difference in the lives of some 125 young people. Through extending this trial, we hope to continue to build on those successes so that we can see the young people in our community grow and flourish for the future.