Geelong women’s health centre part of $71m rollout

A GEELONG women’s health clinic would be expanded to five days a week under a $71 million Labor election pledge to improve the sector.

Daniel Andrews was at University Hospital Geelong this morning to announce the funding boost, headlined by $58 million to build 20 women’s health clinics that Labor said would be “a one-stop shop for women needing treatment or advice on issues from contraception to pelvic pain”.

Labor’s expansion would aim to improve support for conditions including endometriosis, which affects an estimated 200,000 Victorian women who wait seven years on average for a diagnosis, and menopause, which causes symptoms for around 85 per cent of the state’s women.

Barwon Health currently runs a clinic for one day a week but would have significantly increased capacity if Labor wins the coming state election.

Its public services include pregnancy care, birthing services, postnatal care in hospital, home-based postnatal follow-up care, and comprehensive gynaecology services.

Barwon Health women’s and children’s clinical director, associate professor David Fuller said the service had expanded its women’s services in the past two years.

“University Hospital Geelong provides tertiary level specialist care for the mothers and babies with the most complex conditions, which means we work with private hospitals and other rural hospitals in our region to care for families that may require referral and or transfer to our services, for example support for premature babies and our new maternal fetal medicine service,” A/Prof Fuller said.

“A small number of families may need to be transferred to Melbourne for specialist care.”

The Labor initiative would involve consultation for Aboriginal-led health clinics to provide tailored support, while the new services would also involve “culturally-appropriate care” for women from diverse backgrounds.

The pledge also includes $2 million for scholarships to recruit 100 new specialists to staff the clinics, $5.3 million for a mobile clinic to reach remote areas and $6.4 million to establish nine more sexual and reproductive health hubs to support contraception and pregnancy services.

“For too long, too many women haven’t been listened to and their health issues have been ignored. This plan will transform women’s healthcare, ensuring every Victorian woman can access the support and treatment they need and deserve,” Mr Andrews said.

“Some of the most common conditions experienced by women go undiagnosed and untreated – tragically, sometimes until it’s too late. This is about making sure women have the care, and peace of mind, they need.”

Geelong is one of eight regional health services that would have a new women’s health clinic, with a further 12 slated for Melbourne.

This week’s announcement follows an earlier Labor election commitment for a $500 million women’s and children hospital at Barwon Health’s Geelong site.

On the weekend, Labor also promised $23 million for 1500 period product dispensers in public places across Victoria.