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Questions raised over ‘pointless, absurd’ inclusion on survey sent to parents of sick kids

Tom Elliott
Article image for Questions raised over ‘pointless, absurd’ inclusion on survey sent to parents of sick kids

Neil Mitchell says a question posed to parents of sick kids is “wasteful, absurd, offensive and pointless”.

In a 44-page Victorian government healthcare experience survey circulated to parents with kids at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the question “How does your child describe their sexual orientation?” was asked.

“The boxes to tick include: straight or heterosexual, gay, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual,” Neil Mitchell said.

“Have we really come to this? A survey of babies on their sexual orientation!

“Even if a 12-month-old goes ‘Yes, I am pansexual!’ what has it got to do with their healthcare unless it’s a psychological issue?”

Neil Mitchell says the sexual orientation of children shouldn’t be a priority for the Health Department.

“I just don’t get it. You do have the option of not answering, but really, in this environment we’ve got increasing waiting lists, we’ve got problems with the ambulances not turning up, emergency sections are jammed, and they’re worrying about this,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear Neil Mitchell’s thoughts on the survey question

Shadow Victorian health minister Georgie Crozier told Neil Mitchell she’s received a message from a concerned parent who was sent the survey.

“I think it’s just political correctness gone mad,” she said.

“This is a priority to this government? They should be focusing on fixing the health crisis.”

Ms Crozier is calling for the question to be dumped from the healthcare experience survey.

In a statement, the Health Department said the survey was optional and “helps us understand if patients are being offered the same care regardless of their personal circumstances so we can deliver ongoing improvement, patient-centred care for all Victorians”.

Press PLAY below to hear the shadow health minister’s view

Tom Elliott
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