Improving timely access to developmental assessment and management for children in Western Australia’s Warren Blackwood region is the aim of new research by the Rural Clinical School of WA (RCSWA). 

RCSWA researchers including Manjimup General Practitioner Dr Kayla Mizzi are set to investigate the feasibility and health impacts of a GP-integrated model of care in paediatric developmental clinics in the region.

This new research is primarily driven by the significant wait time of more than six months for paediatric developmental assessments by paediatricians across metropolitan and rural WA. 

A developmental delay refers to a child who has not gained the developmental skills expected of them, compared to others of the same age. Delays may occur in the areas of motor function, speech and language, cognitive, play, and social skills.

Dr Mizzi said there had already been strong community buy-in to the proposed paediatric developmental clinics and families were very excited about having local options for assessment and management.  

It is well understood that early intervention reduces the impacts of developmental disorders and improves outcomes for children. 

“We are aiming to have our first clinic open in August 2025 with steady clinics ongoing each fortnight, alternating between Manjimup and Bridgetown. We are confident there will be plenty of referrals to both the over and under sixes clinics,” she said. 

“The clinical paediatricians, who will be reviewing patients after the GP component of the clinics is completed, have been confirmed by the WA Country Health Service.”

The research project is two years in the making and has been shaped and guided through ethics approvals by developmental paediatricians Dr Brad MacDonald and Dr Stephanie Sherrard. UWA final year medical student and RCSWA alumna Emily Galvin has also joined the project team as a data analyst.  

Dr Mizzi is quietly confident the GP-integrated model of care will benefit children in other rural communities in future and may help define the Rural Generalist Paediatrician’ qualification and attract more junior doctors to the speciality. 

“I passionately believe that all kids deserve access to the care they need to thrive. I know that the research and clinics that we're developing will help to keep our kids healthy and give them the best opportunities possible,” she said.

For further information, contact [email protected]

Image: Dr Kayla Mizzi and sons.