Northside Health to become NT’s first endometriosis, pelvic pain clinic

Despite one in nine Australian women suffering from the chronic condition, the Territory doesn’t have a dedicated clinic to treat endometriosis. Here’s how that’s about to change.

It is a painful chronic condition that impacts one in nine women, yet takes seven years on average to diagnose.

But health professionals are hoping the Territory’s first dedicated endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic could flip those statistics on their head.

Northside Health NT, based in Darwin’s Coconut Grove, is one of twenty Australian clinics to receive $700,000 over four years to tackle the issue.

GP and practice owner Dr Danielle Stewart said the federal government funding would allow her clinic to offer patients a streamlined and comprehensive approach to endometriosis.

Dr Danielle Stewart, practice owner and GP of Northside Health Clinic, has welcomed the commonwealth investment to establish 20 endometriosis clinics across the country. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Our plan in the NT is to offer a specialised program and series of appointments that people will be able to access,” she said.

“They’ll have the benefit of seeing a GP, pelvic health physio and potentially other allied health, and also participating in very useful group education sessions.”

Dr Stewart said the program would be running by the mid-year, with a patient waitlist quickly growing.

She also said treatments, many of which would be bulk-billed, would be available to remote women through an online program.

“When I was in my 20s, thirty years ago, and suffered from very severe period pain myself there was very little understanding about causes of pelvic pain or the existence of endometriosis,” Dr Stewart said.

“In those decades we’ve had the advent of laparoscopy (surgery), improved ultrasound services and lots of research into endometriosis.

“We have such an improved understanding of the condition now … women shouldn’t be missing out on effective treatments.”

Dr Stewart said a large majority of endometriosis did not need to be managed by a laparoscopy or a gynaecologist.

Dr Stewart said the funding announcement would also allow Northside Health NT to recruit more health professionals and upskill their existing practitioners. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Although there is a common focus on laparoscopy being a treatment for endometriosis, the best outcomes from laparoscopy relate to improvement in fertility and less so in pain management,” she said.

“So it really needs to be reframed as a chronic pain issue where you really need to bring in innovative, multidisciplinary approaches.”

Solomon MP Luke Gosling said the new clinic would be a “crucial step forward” for women’s health.

“Debilitating endometriosis and pelvic pain affect thousands of Territory women, and it’s often misdiagnosed or minimised,” he said.

“They deserve to have their concerns be taken seriously with better access to specialised care.

“Women in pain have sometimes had to travel interstate for treatment … a local clinic that specialises in women’s healthcare is so important.”

Originally published as Northside Health to become NT’s first endometriosis, pelvic pain clinic