Abortion clinic opens in city

Updated November 6 2012 - 8:49pm, first published April 7 2008 - 5:00pm

BENDIGO women now have the choice to seek abortion for unwanted pregnancy in their own community.A clinic providing counselling and sexual health information opened for the first time at Bendigo Health yesterday.The service is the result of a partnership with Bendigo Community Health Services.Until this week, Bendigo Health was the only major public hospital not to offer the service in Victoria.Patients will be referred to the service by Women’s Health Loddon Mallee, Bendigo Community Health Services and local GPs.Bendigo Health executive director of surgical services Glenis Beaumont said counselling would be focused on examining options for pregnant women.‘‘Any woman who is thinking about making this awkward and difficult decision has the opportunity to speak to someone other than the doctor who’s performing the procedure,’’ Ms Beaumont said.The clinic, which provides a series of sessions, including follow-up counselling, will particularly assist women from low socio-economic backgrounds.‘‘They’re the people who are less able to travel elsewhere so it’s sensible to help that group of women in the first instance,’’ Ms Beaumont said.‘‘They’re also the group that are less likely to seek help and counselling at any time, so it’s an opportunity to give them sexual education, contraceptive education and follow-up.’’Ms Beaumont said information packs for prospective clients would be distributed to referral providers within the next week.She said community needs had precipitated the hospital’s response to establish the service.‘‘It’s been a deficit in our services - its been something that we, as a very large regional health service, haven’t offered and we know that means our local women don’t have the full range of services.’’Bendigo Health will only perform abortions to women at seven to 12 weeks’ gestation where informed consent is given.Women presenting with pregnancies of more than 12 weeks would be advised to seek further medical advice in Melbourne, Ms Beaumont said.Attorney-General Rob Hulls will table the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s report on possible options for the removal of abortion from the Crimes Act in Parliament this Friday.Ms Beaumont said the timing of the clinic’s opening and pending parliamentary debate on legislative change was ‘‘quite coincidental.’’`‘The reality is, we started working on this last year and we’ve needed to ensure training and education was provided to staff directly involved,’’ she said."We’ve progressed because we needed to progress.’’Women’s Health Loddon Mallee chief executive Linda Beilharz said the new clinical service was ‘‘very important.’’’‘It’s so helpful to provide local services,’’ she said.‘‘It’s a service that’s fairly highly used by women of all ages and different backgrounds.’’Ms Beilharz said Women’s Health Loddon Mallee handled about two inquiries each week from women seeking terminations.‘‘We don’t provide a clinical service and it indicates a much larger need.’’She said the service at Bendigo Health would minimise possible risks in delaying an abortion for women in Bendigo and other rural areas.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Bendigo news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.