Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Doorstop - 22 November 2023

GED KEARNEY, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Hello everybody. It's wonderful to be here at Rouse Hill Town Medical and Dental Centre. This amazing Primary Health Care Service is the recipient of $700,000 to establish an Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinic for Western Sydney - a much needed service.  

 

Around one in nine women in Australia suffer with endometriosis and many, many more with pelvic pain - for all sorts of reasons. Often we hear that women with pelvic pain - potentially with endometriosis - are not believed when they do present with pain. Or they're told: “Pelvic pain is just something that a woman puts up with”.  

 

And we know that that is not the case. If women experience pelvic pain, there are treatments. There are treatments for endometriosis - excellent care.

 

For women with endometriosis, or with pelvic pain, we need you to come somewhere where you will be heard, where you will be believed and where you will be treated with care and compassion, dignity and respect.

 

That's what we're going to get here at Rouse Hill Town Medical and Dental Centre.  

 

I have the wonderful Susan Templeman with me, who is the member for Macquarie. A lot of her constituents will be able to come here and use this service. And Dr. Wadhwani, who is an expert in women's health care who's been explaining to me the wonderful services that the clinic will provide.

The Australian Government is very proud to invest in women's health.

 

We know that women with endometriosis and pelvic pain have been screaming out for decent care for somewhere to go, where they will be believed, where they will be treated.

 

I'm very pleased to announce that this wonderful clinic will be a recipient of the funding for an Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinic

 

Susan, would you like to say a few words?

 

SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE ARTS, MEMBER FOR MACQUARIE: I absolutely would. Thank you. Susan Templeman, the member from Macquarie.  

 

There are women right through the electorate that I represent - the Hawkesbury, the Blue Mountains, but all the way across Western Sydney through to Northwest Sydney -- who have not known where to go. They might have gone to a GP, but not had the sort of care that's actually helped them find a pathway through endometriosis. I think it's just fantastic that they know, coming to Rouse Hill they're going to get a team of people who can put together a whole program for them.

 

I think from the day that this is open - and I know people already come here now, but from the day the expanded clinic is available - I think it's going to be really meeting an unmet demand.

 

One of the key things I see is young women suffer in silence for a really long time, before they seek help. What we want to say to them is: “You do not need to suffer. You need to come and talk about it with people who understand it and can give a holistic approach to it".  

 

I'm very excited to have this right on the edge of my electorate. For the people of the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury, this is going to be an obvious place to come to get the help that they need.  

 

And I really want to thank the Federal Government and my colleagues, particularly you, Assistant Minister, for recognising that this needs to be in Western Sydney.

 

 I'm very grateful. I think there'll be many women who will really appreciate. They don't even know what it's going to be like for them. I think once they try it, they'll wonder how they survived for so long without it.

 

It’s a very, very wonderful location for it.

 

ASSISTANT MINISTER KEARNEY: What will the clinic look like?

 

DR SNEHA WADHWANI: Well, the clinic really is going to be a hub for women to come and explore their concerns about endometriosis or pelvic pain. And it can be both, it can be one or another.  

 

We offer a schedule of care and a program of care that's transparent for the patient.

 

We know that women can wait up to five to seven years before they achieve a diagnosis and start any treatment and we know in that time damage is happening when endometriosis is there. Some of that damage can be irreversible and cause significant consequences on fertility and damage to other organs. We really do need to address this.  

Our schedule of care offers a six-appointment program. Patients will be able to see what they're going to get at each stage. We pull in Allied Health, dieticians, psychologists, pelvic floor physios, all geared up to providing women's health care. They're allowed to see that their progress will improve through that process. Hopefully at the end, they will achieve their goals. We're very much oriented towards the goals of the woman in their journey with endometriosis and pelvic pain.

 

We can start treatment early, diagnose quickly, and sometimes prevents surgery, which is a key outcome.