NEW ENDOMETRIOSIS AND MENOPAUSE CLINIC FOR REGION

The Albanese Labor Government will open a specialised Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain GP Clinic in the Nepean Blue Mountains region, providing women with expert, multidisciplinary care and a one-stop option for diagnosis, intervention, and treatment. The clinic will also provide menopause support.

The Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (PHN) is receiving one of 11 new Endo Clinics, which will mean that each of the 33 Primary Health Networks has one available. Currently the closest clinic is in Rouse Hill, and it will also be upgraded to provide menopause support.

Ms Templeman made the announcement at the Blue Mountains Women’s Health and Resource Centre (BMWHRC) – an organisation which has long advocated for better access to specialised women’s health services.

The announcement comes on the one year anniversary of a women’s health forum in Katoomba with Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney last year, hosted by Ms Templeman and BMWHRC, where community groups and local residents came together to discuss the unique challenges women and girls experience in our health system.

The specialised GP clinics reduce delays and promote early access to intervention, care and treatment and will also help build professional knowledge and skills to manage the condition.

Each clinic is based in an existing GP practice with experience and expertise in women’s health, endometriosis and pain management. The announcement is part of the Labor Government’s record $573 million investment in women’s health, to deliver more choice, lower costs and better health care for women. It includes the first PBS listing for new menopausal hormone therapies in over 20 years, with around 150,000 women saving hundreds of dollars a year from the listing of Prometrium ® , Estrogel ® and Estrogel ® Pro.

The package includes lower costs and better access to long-term contraceptives, with larger Medicare payments and more bulk billing for IUDs and birth control implants saving around 300,000 women a year up to $400 in out-of-pocket costs and the first PBS listing for new oral contraceptive pills in more than 30 years, with the listing of Yaz® and Yasmin® saving 50,000 women hundreds of dollars a year.

Endometriosis affects at least 1 in 9 Australian women and can have a devastating impact on the daily lives of those with the condition. Research has also shown that 1 in 2 Australian women experience pelvic pain and half of those women do not discuss their symptoms with a doctor despite significant impacts on work or study. The impact of pelvic pain is felt beyond individuals as it is estimated to cost the Australian economy almost $10 billion a year.

Quotes attributable to Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman MP: “At a time when still too many people don’t take endometriosis seriously, women in Penrith and the Blue Mountains deserve to have access to expert endo and menopause care closer to home.

“I was proud to ensure women in western Sydney had access to the Rouse Hill clinic, however there is an unmet demand for the Penrith and Blue Mountains region.

“Women in our community have been calling out for better access to specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain care and I’ve fought hard with them to get those services delivered.”

“We know too many women suffer through their pelvic pain and menopause in silence. Having a clinic closer to home helps remove one of the barriers that prevents women getting the care they need and helps to address the inequities that exist in women’s health.”