THE Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, today announced that the Australian Government is set to tackle the protracted delays in diagnosing Juvenile Arthritis (JA), a painful autoimmune disease affecting many children.
The newly unveiled program aims to arm pharmacists, general practitioners and other health professionals with critical clinical guidance and information from the peak Australian Paediatric Rheumatology Group.
This initiative is designed to enhance awareness of JA's symptoms and diagnostic criteria, significantly reducing the time it takes to identify the condition and begin effective treatment.
Labelled as "unacceptable" by health experts, these delays have remained unchanged for over two decades, impacting up to 10,000 Australian families.
Currently, the journey to a JA diagnosis stretches an average of 10-11 months, a period that hasn't seen improvement in more than 20 years.
Butler said, "this delay not only exacerbates the daily suffering of young Australians but also heightens the risk of permanent joint deformities, loss of vision, and lifelong dependence".
The program, titled 'Juvenile Arthritis: Early Diagnosis - Early Intervention Changing Children's Lives,' emerges in the wake of vigorous advocacy by the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation Australia and is a principal recommendation from a recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Childhood Rheumatic Diseases.
Dr Ben Whitehead, Chair of the Australian Paediatric Rheumatology Group, highlighted the low awareness and common misconceptions surrounding JA, emphasising that many believe "kids don't get arthritis".
This program seeks to dispel such myths and ensure early and accurate diagnosis. JG
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