I don’t think it’s any secret that many Australians are finding it harder to access healthcare and navigate the healthcare system.

Getting in to see a GP can be hard sometimes, especially if you want to find one that bulk bills. It’s not the doctor’s fault - there has unfortunately been decades of under-investment at the federal level over the past 30 years of mostly LNP rule.

That’s before you get to the challenges of navigating the system as a woman. Many of us have struggled at times to find a doctor we trust, or experienced a sense of feeling like our health issues were being dismissed, or that we weren’t being listened to.

If you’ve felt like that, you’re not alone: We surveyed 10,000 women as part of the Queensland Women and Girls Health Survey. More than half reported feeling dismissed in a healthcare setting, others raised issues include cost, distance, long wait times, the inability to secure an appointment. Most rated mental health and wellbeing support as important to them and more than half rated chronic health conditions including endometriosis as important.

Thank you to all the locals in Cooper who filled this survey out. We’re listening.

While some of these challenges relate to the federal system, we’re going to be doing everything within our power in Queensland to address these issues.

We’ll be making more announcements over the coming months, but here’s a few things we’ve been working on:

• Hired around 20,000 additional frontline health workers

• We’ve included babies in midwife-to-patient ratio and appointed a Chief Midwife

• We’re making UTI treatments available at community pharmacies, with plans to make the contraceptive pill available in 2024

• Established Midwifery Group Practice

• Invested $20 million in community based perinatal mental health support

• Funded the QENDO app, which helps people with endometriosis track their symptoms with their healthcare providers

• Decriminalised termination of pregnancy and introduced safe access zones at abortion clinics

• Opened the Gold Coast Pelvic Mesh Clinic to provide care, treatment and support to people affected by pelvic mesh implants

• Delivered mobile women’s health clinics to provide a broad range of healthcare services to rural and remote communities

I look forward to keeping everyone updated as more announcements are made.