Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

In Australia, too many health issues specific to women have been misunderstood, overlooked, underresearched, underfunded and undertreated for decades. Today I'll touch on just two of these many health issues that women face. Around one-quarter of women aged between 30 and 50 years suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding, where blood loss may be so bad that women are confined to their home for days every month. This regular heavy bleeding can cause severe iron deficiency and anaemia, in turn causing debilitating symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness, irritability, dizziness, fainting, confusion, depression, headaches and brain fog—all of which can have a devastating impact on a woman's quality of life.

Despite being so common, awareness and understanding of the problem is low amongst women, and it is undiagnosed by health professionals. Women often assume it is normal and so don't seek help. I wholeheartedly thank and acknowledge the work of health professionals, such as Dr Talat Uppal in my electorate of Mackellar, who is working passionately and tirelessly to improve the awareness and management of this very common condition.

Then there is menopause. Fifty per cent of the population experience it, and symptoms can last for 14 years, yet it has been a taboo topic for decades. Hot flushes are just one of the 34 uncomfortable or debilitating physical or psychological symptoms. Twenty-five per cent of women suffer severe symptoms. As Professor Susan Davis, a past president of the International Menopause Society, said: 'Anyone who suggests that most women can live with their symptoms is ill informed.' Yet the culture of silence around menopause and the lack of adequate training of health professionals has meant that women have been needlessly struggling with its impacts—both health and financial impacts—for decades. It was truly shocking, as the Senate inquiry into menopause heard, that medical students may spend as little as one hour on menopause training during their six years at medical school, and I certainly experienced that as well.

Then there was the poorly designed Women's Health Initiative study, which came out in 2002 and which drew misleading conclusions that hormone replacement therapy may cause more detrimental than beneficial effects. This study set back women's health for over two decades. Numerous studies have come out since to show the safety and clear benefit of menopause hormone therapy, but the widespread panic it caused amongst both women and health professionals alike continues to have repercussions to this day, so much so that a recent study found that 85 per cent of all women in high-income countries do not receive effective treatment for their menopause symptoms. Women are also missing out on the other benefits of menopause hormone therapy, including reducing the risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, dementia, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

Then there are the financial impacts of poorly managed menopause. The lack of workplace policies to support women during menopause is causing women to retire prematurely. On average, women intend to retire at age 64 but are leaving the workforce at age 52 on average. Women retire seven years earlier than men, often at the height of their careers and often when menopause hits. Almost half of women who retire before the age of 55 cite health as the reason they stopped work. Research and modelling done in 2022 estimates that, even if just 10 per cent of women retired early because of menopause symptoms, it would equate to a loss of earnings and super of more than $17 billion for our economy.

So the recent inquiry into menopause was very welcome, and I strongly support the urgent implementation of the inquiry's recommendations, including such things as the establishment of the national menopause action plan to drive best practice in menopause care; the public awareness campaign on menopause and perimenopause; improved training for both medical students and health professionals; additional Medicare rebates for menopause consultations, including longer consultations and mid-life health checks; and, lastly, a guarantee that the best forms of menopause hormone therapy are affordable and accessible for all women who need it.

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