CRITICAL SUPPORT TO PREVENT EAR DISEASE AMONGST ABORIGINAL CHILDREN

Earbus Screener Jammima peers into the ears of a Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School student

Middle ear disease is an insidious, underestimated and under-treated condition that can affect every aspect of early childhood development and create lifelong barriers that prevent children from reaching their full potential in life.

Earbus is an organisation with a mission to reduce the incidence of middle ear disease, particularly for Indigenous and ‘at-risk’ children in Western Australia.

Since 2018, The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation has committed substantial funding to the South West Earbus Program.

In partnership with South-West Aboriginal Medical Health Service, the program supports Bunbury, Peel and surrounding area schools with regular screening and treatment for children suffering from ear disease.

Earbus CEO Paul Higginbotham said the impacts of COVID-19 have been widespread and profound for the organisation whose services primarily operate in regional areas of Western Australia.

“Our focus during COVID-19 has been prioritising the safety of Aboriginal children and communities and preserving all staff jobs,” Mr Higginbotham said.

“Earbus successfully adjusted to the new “abnormal” like many other businesses.

“Through innovating, we’ve managed to maintain regular regional trips and contact with communities with our clinical teams reaching out to the neediest, most at-risk Aboriginal children and families.

Most Earbus primary care has been via Telehealth and reduced flights has meant travelling by road across policed borders into the Goldfields and Esperance regions.

“Perhaps the best news story is our success in getting much needed free soap and tissue supplies out to regional and remote Aboriginal communities who needed them so desperately,” he said.

Foundation Chair Elizabeth Perron said the Foundation was proud to support Earbus in the work they are doing to help current and future generations of Indigenous children.

“Good hearing is fundamentally linked to the capacity of children to succeed at school, unhindered by the debilitating effects of ear disease and its impacts upon their ability to learn and achieve their full potential.”