The Australian government recently announced that Endometriosis & Pelvic Pain Clinics are now available in all states and territories. This initiative will help bring much needed multi-disciplinary care and support to those who are dealing with the challenges of endometriosis and pelvic pain.
Western Australia’s two clinics are located at The Garden Family Medical Clinic in Murdoch and Pioneer Health in Albany.
Endometriosis is reported to cost more than $6-7 billion in healthcare, absenteeism and lost social and economic participation.
EndometriosisWA welcomes the announcement of the GP clinics as the beginning of much more work that needs to take place. The clinics will provide a more holistic approach with a multi-disciplinary team on board to help manage the many varying symptoms of endometriosis.
Ideally, we would have loved to see a Centre of Excellence for endometriosis led by experts in the field, which would encompass cutting-edge diagnostics, management and research into endometriosis.
As a step towards this vision, we would like to see a similar investment by the McGowan government in tertiary healthcare for endometriosis. This would ensure that patients are transitioned seamlessly between hospital and GP care.
In a world of many sources of information, the clinics will provide an accurate and evidence-based source of education for patients and their families. Additionally, having a GP clinic in Albany will allow better access for treatment and diagnosis for people living in this area. We would love to see the federal government expand the clinics into the rest of regional and remote Western Australia.
You can read the full announcement from The Hon Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care here.