Coalition pledges $1.2m for Royal Children’s Hospital Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Service

Victorian families have been offered a ray of hope with the Coalition vowing to save a hospital unit for babies and children that was quietly disbanded earlier this year.

A specialist unit for complex colorectal diseases at the Royal Children’s Hospital will be thrown a $1.2m lifeline under a Coalition election pledge to help babies and children needing vital care.

The Opposition is also vowing to permanently fund the world-leading unit, which was quietly disbanded earlier this year, as part of a new five-year health deal with the state.

Families were left dismayed after resources at the RCH’s Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Service (CPRS) began declining in November last year without warning.

The unit’s closure comes after funding from a one-off $5.9m grant under the former Morrison government ended in June.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston says the families of 1000 children receiving treatment for complex colorectal conditions deserve certainty that the service will be there to support them. Picture: Martin Ollman

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the families of 1000 children receiving treatment for complex colorectal conditions – including anorectal malformations, Hirschsprung disease and chronic constipation – deserved certainty that the service would be there to support them.

“If Anthony Albanese can find $15m for pandas in his Budget he should be able to find the funding needed to support these beautiful Australian babies – this is a test of his character,” Senator Ruston said.

“It is inconceivable that the government would desert these children who need our help and support.

“Under an elected Dutton Coalition government, these families will always have access to the support they need and they deserve.”

The Coalition has promised the critical service a $1.2m grant, which would secure its operation through to June 2026.

It would also seek to permanently fund the unit as part of a new National Health Reform Agreement with the Victorian government from 2026 onwards.

In February, a federal government spokesperson said questions about future funding should be directed to the state.

The Royal Children’s Hospital has insisted that there would be no cuts to core services.

The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Melbourne mother Sarah McArthur’s son Edward was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease at eight days old.

Ms McArthur, who is the daughter of senior Victorian Liberal MP Bev McArthur, said: “I am excited by this announcement, because thanks to the Coalition, it means our children, suffering from complex colorectal conditions, can continue to enjoy the very best standard of care in the world”.

“Our children and their specific and ongoing care needs are frequently overlooked from a public attention and funding perspective because bowel movements are taboo,” she said.

“The CPRS ensures we can keep our children out of emergency by mitigating any bowel issues with direct & quick contact with the CPRS clinical nurse consultants.”

Victorian mother Seija Keeble began receiving support from the CPRS when her daughter was born with anorectal malformation in March 2021.

Ms Keeble said the treatment was “traumatic” but the unit had provided wraparound care and confidence.

She said the thought of people going through these complex conditions without the service was “just awful” – adding it should be the basic level of care for the 80-100 children born a year with anorectal malformation.

“I would be devastated if future families don’t get what I was given,” Ms Keeble said.

“Hats off to the Coalition for stepping up because $1.2m in their budgets is nothing.”

She said it was “incomprehensible” that the hard work, research, and breakthroughs to help children that were already discriminated against because of what they were born with was at risk of being lost.

Originally published as Coalition pledges $1.2m for Royal Children’s Hospital Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Service