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Ngala sees spike in calls to parenting hotline during coronavirus restrictions

Headshot of Caitlyn Rintoul
Caitlyn RintoulThe West Australian
Ngala CEO Fiona Beermier.
Camera IconNgala CEO Fiona Beermier. Credit: Alan Chau/The West Australian

Parents seeking help with children peaked during COVID-19 restrictions in WA, according to community service organisation Ngala.

Calls for help to their parenting support line was up 12 per cent on the previous year.

Speaking to The West Live host Jenna Clarke, chief executive officer Fiona Beermier attributed a majority of the spike in calls to the pressure and isolation placed on families, with youngsters aged 18 and under, during the strict COVID-19 restrictions.

She said physical distancing precautions forced the organisation to close its overnight service in Kensington.

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The closure led to increased calls to their parenting support line.

"During COVID-19, because of the social distancing and because of the requirements around the hygiene, we actually had to close down the majority of our hospital service — even though it was in demand,” Ms Beermier said.

"Some families were actually needing the service but were very hesitant to come in. So instead of coming in and doing an overnight stay, of say four nights [and] five days, they would come in and just do a day stay and the have some consultation provided to them through digital access.

"There has been certainly a spike and I think some of that actually came aboutwhen the State was locked down.

“There were borders closures [and] families didn't have the same kind of networks and support that they would normally have. There is evidence on our data that with COVID-19 there was absolutely an upward trend.”

For the past two years, however, the service has been linking people in regional and remote communities to digital consultations with health professionals.

Ms Beermier said that side of their service had been strengthened during the pandemic and would continue.

“Ngala created service delivery and support options which were not just reliant on digital outputs; we also quickly pivoted by creating closed Facebook groups, online meeting rooms and virtual parenting programs,” she said.

“Our teams also delivered customised supports by hand-delivering activity packs, and hosted online activities like playgroups, teddy bear picnics and story-time readings."

Ngala is also asking WA families to take part in an international world-first study into the effects of COVID-19 on family life.

The study will survey parents in 40 countries across five continents in collaboration with 13 international partners, and the results will help to design policies and programs and the delivery of services to families.

“All of the supports and programs delivered by Ngala are backed by evidence and research, and we will take the learnings from this study to inform our work in the future where appropriate,” Ms Beermier said.

“Ngala is proud to be working with our international partners on this platform of research, which will contribute to the best outcomes for not just West Australians, but our global community of families.”

The COVID-19 Family Life Study can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVID19-family

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