OPINION

THERE’S an incredible initiative taking place in Victoria that the rest of us should really consider — the problem is, some of us are up in arms about it.

The State Government has been forced to defend a new plan to introduce doctors into state schools next year, that will see kids as young as 12 have free access to a GP. Yet some parents — and the opposition — are crying foul.

Because as The Project’s Peter Helliar said earlier this week, “nothing puts people more at risk than access to medicine”. Nailed it, Pete.

Called the “Doctors in schools program”, students at 100 disadvantaged secondary schools across the state will be able to access appointments with a doctor on school grounds once a week.

The State Government has set aside a whopping $43.8 million for the initiative, $18 million of which will include the construction of examination rooms on school grounds. Clearly, this is a big deal. Victorian Minister for Education James Merlino thinks so, too.

“It can be hard for some kids to access healthcare for all sorts of reasons, so we’re making sure they get the help they need,” he said in a statement.

“A health issue can get in the way of a student’s ability to learn and a doctor on school grounds will mean they can get help sooner. Happy, healthy students do better in school.”

Yet opposition to the plan say kids will be able to access medication, including the pill and other health services notably sexual health services, without the consent of parents.

“These are health issues that are best placed for families,” the opposition’s education spokesman Nick Wakeling replied.

“If a mother finds out their child has been to a doctor at a school and been issued the contraceptive pill without their knowledge, where does that place the school principal?

“They are seen as the facilitator of that process because it is provided on the school grounds.”

Huh? Way to throw the school principal under the bus, Nick.

It was even more disappointing when The Project ran a discussion on the topic this week, with most of its hosts uncomfortable about the prospect.

“I want to be involved, if my daughter is going to the doctor I want to be there,” said co-host Fifi Box.

Waleed Aly backed Box’s opinion, claiming, “you can’t deal parents out of an equation like that, I don’t think.”

Whether these kids will require parental consent is yet to be seen, Education Minister James Merlino has been fairly vague on the topic.

And fair enough, it’s concerning to you. But I’m here to slap some reality into that overly-cautious parental mind of yours.

We don’t live in a perfect world. And sadly, parents, your teenagers are going to have sex and probably not tell you about it. Just like my generation, and yours, did all those years back.

How refreshing though that this generation will have an expert to talk to about it confidentially.

If the kids of today are freaking out about pregnancy, or STIs, or whatever case it may be, they’ll finally have a safe place. Because I sure didn’t. And I bet you didn’t have that either. Someone that won’t slap them on the wrist, or ground them, or lock them in their room for an eternity.

I’m not a parent, but I was a teenager once, and I know there were times I wish I could have reached out to a doctor in a safe environment.

I think we all need to remember that being a teenager is tough. We make mistakes. We’re exploring our bodies. Figuring out our fantasies.

That the Labor government has created such a program should be met with applause. Do we need to ensure “considerable police and operational evaluation”, as the Australian Medical Association of Victoria prescribed, is taken into account? Yes.

But I believe we should forget about ourselves, and think about the future of our kids. And if this initiative is it then, in my opinion, the future is bright.

— youngma@news.com.au