00:00Five years ago, Megan Phipps had abdominal pain so severe, she struggled to make her
00:10own lunch.
00:11It was that sort of sharp, localised, but then it became this persistent dull ache
00:16that was just present at all times.
00:18Her GP tested for appendicitis.
00:21The results were clear.
00:23He said, take a deep breath, you're a young woman, I think you should do some stress management
00:27techniques, try yoga, try journaling.
00:29Megan left the appointment in shock.
00:32It was really jarring to have my experience so easily dismissed.
00:37A new doctor, two gynaecologists and nine months later, Megan was diagnosed with endometriosis.
00:45Laparoscopic surgery changed her life.
00:48I woke up and for the first time in nine, ten months by that stage, I wasn't in pain.
00:55Megan's experience is not unique.
00:57A survey of women in Canberra found overall low levels of satisfaction with endometriosis
01:04healthcare.
01:05It also found perimenopause and menopause care hugely lacking.
01:09A quarter of women reported getting little or none of what they needed when seeking support,
01:15information or treatment.
01:17Felicity Brazel knows the feeling all too well.
01:22It was 2020 when she found herself suffering through hot flushes, brain fog and anxiety.
01:28I'd be at work and I would just be in tears and I'd be going, this isn't me.
01:34The wait for an appointment with her usual GP was longer than Felicity was willing to wait.
01:41So she saw a different doctor at the same practice.
01:44It was someone who was a younger woman, hadn't gone through it and was really having to go
01:49and didn't know much about it and having to look up on the website.
01:54Felicity walked away with a prescription for antidepressants and the realisation that seeing
01:59a doctor who specialised in women's health was vital.
02:03You can't talk about menopause in a 15-minute chat.
02:07The survey also found 45% of women felt doctors were taking them only somewhat seriously
02:14or not at all seriously.
02:16It's a statistic that's hard for Dr Laura Chapman to hear but not to understand.
02:22So often women will come to see us here saying that they have felt dismissed or not taken seriously.
02:29And the most commonly mismanaged conditions, endometriosis and menopause.
02:35A big part of the problem, according to Dr Chapman, is the prevalence of 10-minute medicine.
02:41There is only a certain amount of time that you can give to that woman
02:45if you're booking appointments every 10 minutes.
02:48For Lauren Anthes, the head of the think tank behind the survey,
02:52the findings offer a powerful tool to advocate for change.
02:56So whether that's about affordability or whether that's in fact ensuring that people are taken seriously
03:01when they present with certain issues.
03:03But it also gives us the ability, hopefully, to work with the community.
03:07So to work with them around where to go for their help.
03:10What's now clear is there's plenty of room for improvement.
03:14Where are we, Marla bona fides?
03:15Thermomessa, the family's heart must be hardships during the town of the streets.
03:20We'll have to do some more questions.
03:21Where are we?
03:22What are we, Marla?
03:23What if our children and classmates are still waiting for them?
03:26What are we, Marla?
03:27What are we, Marla?
03:28We're, Marla.
03:29We'll be.
03:30The family and family are here.
03:31That's great.
03:32What do you guys understand?
03:33We've been hearing about the very first.
03:35So all of the time, all of the time is looking at the storybook.
Comments