IUD placement breakthrough for Stawell

Stawell's Sexual and Reproductive Health Hub has reached an exciting milestone with the launch of its new referral pathway for intrauterine contraceptive device placements. 

Working in partnership with Stawell's Operating Suite and visiting Gynaecologists, the first referral list has now been successfully completed, improving access to timely, local reproductive healthcare for women in our community. 

Grampians Health Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinical Nurse Consultant at Stawell Katie Lovett said each patient on the list was referred through the hub. 

“This marks an exciting expansion of women’s health services available locally and demonstrates our commitment to providing specialised care closer to home,” Ms Lovett said. 

“The new weekly service means Stawell women will no longer have to travel to Ballarat for IUD placements and that will be a big relief for many women in our region. 

“In delivering these procedures at our Stawell campus, patients are able to access high-quality, timely contraceptive care in their local community and free of charge. This not only reduces barriers to care for women living in rural and regional areas but also helps decrease demand on our larger hubs, such as Ballarat.

“That allows those services to focus on more complex cases and improving access across the wider Grampians Health network. 

“The successful use of our theatre facilities for these procedures also highlights the collaboration across Grampians Health teams to build local capability and expand the range of services available to our community.” 

Chief Operating Officer Ben Kelly said the new service for Stawell showed the continued commitment of Grampians Health to deliver care more responsive to local community needs and provide more services closer to home.