Empowering GPs: Spotlight on Endometriosis & Pelvic Pain Clinics and Cervical Screening Interventions within EMPHN catchment

This year’s Women’s Health Week (2 – 6 September) focuses on shining a spotlight on some of the biggest issues in women’s health, under the banner of ‘Your voice. Your choice.’

It’s a great opportunity to highlight how health professionals can support the wellbeing of girls and women. Read on to learn more about some key services and resources supported by EMPHN to promote among your female patients.

Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics

Endometriosis is a chronic, progressive condition affecting 1 in 7 women and individuals assigned female at birth. Unfortunately, diagnosing endometriosis is often delayed, with an average of seven years between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis. General Practitioners (GPs) are typically the first point of contact for those with suspected endometriosis. They play a crucial role in identifying symptoms, prescribing appropriate medications, and/or providing referrals to specialists for further testing and treatment.

In the EMPHN catchment area, two Commonwealth-funded Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain GP Clinics, EACH Ringwood and Epping Plaza Medical & Dental Centre (Evoca), are dedicated to reducing diagnostic delays. These clinics promote early access to interventions, care, treatment options, and referral services for individuals in the community experiencing the debilitating effects of endometriosis and pelvic pain.

Led by experienced GPs and supported by a multidisciplinary team, these services are available to any female or person assigned female at birth, whether they have been diagnosed with endometriosis or are seeking a diagnosis for pelvic pain.

EMPHN Women’s Health, Gynaelcology Resources:

• Endometriosis & Pelvic Pain GP Clinics Flyer – Health Professional
• Endometriosis & Pelvic Pain GP Clinics Flyer – Patient
• HealthPathways Melbourne – Gynaelcology

Find out more about the specialised Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics established within the EMPHN region.

Cervical Screening Toolkit

It is estimated that 70% of Australians who develop cervical cancer have either never screened or have not screened for some time. Cancer screening is a valuable health intervention against cervical cancer, however, it has relatively low rates of uptake.

The need for improvement in this space led EMPHN to create a Cervical Screening Quality Improvement Toolkit. This toolkit provides practical steps and ideas for practice teams to implement improvement activities at their own pace, based on the needs of the practice. With the hope of assisting general practices with increasing cervical screening rates with a focus on self-collection, this toolkit is available to all health professionals within the EMPHN region.

Review below listed resources available to support your practices Cervical Screening activity.

• Cervical Screening Quality Improvement Toolkit for General Practice
• Cervical Screening Quality Improvement Activity: Sample PDSA
• Webinar – Improving health outcomes by incorporating HPV Self-Collection
• Quality Improvement Webinar – Increasing Uptake of cervical screening rates at your general practice
• HealthPathways Melbourne Cervical Screening Pathway

Women’s health additional resources

• HealthPathways Melbourne – Women’s Health
• Department of Health – Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program
• Better Health Channel – Health checks for women
• healthdirect – Women’s health
• Women’s Health Information Centre
• Women’s Health Victoria
• National Women’s Health Policy
• RACGP women’s health clinical guidelines
• RACGP women’s health curriculum and syllabus

Utilise the above listed services and resources to assist your consultations with your female patients, resulting in positive, impactful discussions on Women’s health.