Endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics expanded

The federal government has increased the commitment for endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across all states and territories from 16 to 20.

The move is expected to make specialised, multidisciplinary care available to more women across Australia with at least one clinic in every state and territory and a mix of regional and metropolitan locations.

The clinics will each receive more than $700,000 over four years, to support hiring specialised staff, including nurse practitioners and allied health professionals; investment in equipment or fit-outs such as pelvic physiotherapy areas; and resources, training and development.

Working in existing general practice, the clinics will strengthen what is often the first point of contact in the health system to reduce diagnostic delays and promote early access to multidisciplinary intervention, care and treatment. 

As well as directly helping patients, they will raise awareness of endometriosis and pelvic pain, build professional knowledge and skills in this area, and improve access to information and care pathways.

Patients will be able to access the clinics by booking an appointment at one of the 20 attached clinics. The clinics are part of the federal government’s $58.3 million package for endometriosis and pelvic pain, announced in the 2022–23 Budget.

Funding was awarded with consideration of GP clinics being able to demonstrate existing expertise in women’s health; improving provision of diagnosis, treatment and management of endometriosis and pelvic pain, including capability of the healthcare team; a strong understanding of and links to their local community; and the ability to link to relevant primary and tertiary care services.

In Queensland, two GP clinics in the North Brisbane and Moreton Bay region — including a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clinic — have been selected to deliver better services for women suffering from endometriosis and pelvic pain, promising better health outcomes, said Brisbane Primary Health Network (PHN) in a statement.

Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (MATSICHS) in Morayfield and Slainte Medical Neighbourhood in Bardon have been selected as part of the budget commitment to provide the establishment of clinics in 20 existing primary care settings nationally, the statement said.

Professor Gita Mishra is the director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health at the University of Queensland, which has been tracking the impact of endometriosis on women in Australia and found higher rates of endometriosis in women in Queensland. “Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, we found that 17% (or around one in six) women in Queensland have been diagnosed with endometriosis by the time they are in their mid-forties (aged 40–44), compared to 11% with the rest of Australia,” Mishra said.

“Timely diagnosis is important, especially for women planning to start a family. About 40% of women with endometriosis have infertility. In our study, women who weren’t diagnosed until after their fertility treatment did more cycles, used more intrauterine insemination (IUI) instead of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), and were less likely to conceive. Having a diagnosis levels the playing field because fertility treatment can be tailored, for example going straight to IVF.”

Image caption: Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (MATSICHS) in Morayfield. Image courtesy of Brisbane PHN.