Wednesday, 31 May 2023

Women’s health

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:53): (262) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health, Minister Thomas. There was good news for women and gender-diverse people in this year’s budget, particularly in women’s health. We welcomed the government’s announcement of $58 million for 20 new comprehensive women’s health clinics and a dedicated Aboriginal-led women’s clinic. The proposed clinics will be located throughout Victoria in areas where there is a real lack of specialist health care for women. This is so important, as we know that distance can be a huge impediment to people accessing proper health care. So it was disappointing to learn that one of the proposed clinics will be located within the Mercy hospital in Werribee.

As a publicly funded hospital, the Mercy should be providing a full range of obstetrics, neonatal and gynaecological care. However, women and gender-diverse people attending the Mercy cannot obtain contraception, abortion or family planning advice because the Mercy is Catholic run. This institutional discrimination against women and gender-diverse people happens at Catholic-run hospitals across Victoria. This is simply wrong. A public hospital should not be refusing ordinary public health services. If you live in Werribee, you are out of luck. There is no other public women’s hospital in the area and no other options for women and gender-diverse people zoned for this hospital. So the action I seek is that the minister consider relocating the women’s health clinic to the Point Cook Medical Centre or another location within the Werribee district so that women and gender-diverse people in this region are able to access the full range of reproductive health services.