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Government expands GP-led endometriosis clinic plan


Jolyon Attwooll


22/03/2023 5:09:46 PM

There are now plans for 20 clinics based around the country which will target endometriosis and pelvic pain.

woman with endometriosis
Around one in nine Australian women aged 40–44 has been diagnosed with endometriosis.

The Federal Government has announced plans to boost the number of endometriosis clinics around the country.
 
Last November, the Federal Government announced they were looking into locations for 16 clinics that would deliver specialised care for endometriosis and pelvic pain.
 
Now it has increased its commitment to 20 clinics, saying it will make specialised, multidisciplinary care available to more women.
 
According to the official announcement on Wednesday, clinics will receive more than $700,000 over four years, with the funding designed to help hiring nurse practitioners and allied health professionals, as well as invest in equipment and pelvic physiotherapy areas.
 
The funding could also be used to expand training and development resources. The clinics will work within existing general practices, the announcement states.
 
On Wednesday, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney called the move a ‘great advancement’ for women’s health, and for people assigned female at birth.
 
‘This is incredibly important because for so long, women have endured a terrible experience in the health system when it comes to being treated for endometriosis and pelvic pain,’ Assistant Minister Kearney told reporters at a press conference in Canberra.
 
‘We know that too often they’ve been dismissed, diagnosis has been delayed.
 
‘It takes, on average, seven years to be diagnosed, some women much longer.
 
‘And we’re really pleased that these clinics right across the country will be an open door for women to know that they can go to these clinics with their issues, they will be believed, they will be appropriately diagnosed, they will get the care that they deserve.’
 
Specific locations have now been listed for the clinics, including six in NSW, four each in Victoria and Queensland, two in Western Australia, and one each for the ACT, NT, South Australia and Tasmania.
 
The clinics are part of a $58.3 million commitment announced in the most recent budget to address endometriosis and pelvic pain.
 
It is estimated around one in nine Australian women aged 40–44 has been diagnosed with endometriosis.
 
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