Call for plan to help Kiwi women who suffer from endometriosis

Endometriosis sufferers are calling for better support, saying the country's “broken" health system is just not there for them.

According to Endometriosis New Zealand, about 120,000 Kiwi women suffer from the condition.

One sufferer, 34-year-old Ainsley Duyvestyn-Smith, says her life is "on hold" while she waits for another appointment, unable to work because of her symptoms.

“I feel like the medical system here is broken. Totally broken. It waits until we are at the bottom of the cliff instead of providing the care we need to stop us from falling off it,” she says.

After 15 years of misdiagnosis, she had to wait nine months for laparoscopic surgery to confirm an endometriosis diagnosis.

Since then, she has been referred to a gynecologist, but as a low-priority case, she must wait 53 weeks to see a public gynecologist at Auckland’s Greenlane  Hospital.

Dr Michael Wynn-Williams, president of the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery Society, says he has sent some patients from New Zealand to Australia with “complex [pelvic] pain issues” that cannot be dealt with in New Zealand.

Australia developed a national action plan in 2018 for endometriosis, and Wynn-Williams says New Zealand should establish a similar plan.

“The amount of money that has been spent on endometriosis research in Australia has been phenomenal,” Wynn-Williams says.

By January 2024, the Australian Government had allocated $58.3 million for endometriosis research and education, and had established 22 dedicated endometriosis and pelvic-pain clinics across Australia.

Associate Minister of Health Hon Casey Costello told Te Waha Nui that in 2023 a Women’s Health Strategy was launched in New Zealand.

She says the strategy prioritises improving women’s healthcare and early intervention to improve health conditions including endometriosis.

“The strategy highlights that timely access, diagnosis and treatment is crucial in supporting women to receive the care they need,” she says.

In Australia, researchers are developing several non-invasive diagnostic tests, potentially including saliva and blood tests.

They are also exploring how AI and pattern recognition can enhance ultrasounds as a less invasive diagnostic tool.

Endometriosis Awareness Month in New Zealand ended this week.