It’s a pivotal time for Menopause in Australia as we look forward to the forthcoming Menopause Senate Inquiry. Submissions are currently open, providing individuals, organisations and communities a once in a lifetime opportunity to advocate and share their views of the broad impact of menopause on women.
Professionals in the field of menopause can provide their perspective (and they will) but the most important voice is the voice of women who have a lived experience of menopause. For the Menopause Inquiry to deliver meaningful outcomes and make a difference to those navigating menopause in the future, we need as many women as possible to make a submission.
I have my own thoughts about what can be done differently to make improvements for women, and those thoughts are based on my own experiences and the experiences of women I have connected with in my role as a Menopause Coach and a Menopause Educator (MEG Licensed Champion).
Today, I was reflecting on a time in my career, back in the early 2000’s when I was working as a Director of Nursing for a Cancer Network in the UK. The Department of Health provided each cancer network with funds to deliver a program to improve the knowledge and skills of community nurses in palliative care. My role was to lead a collaborative and coordinated project across 9 Primary Care Trusts (a population of 1 million) that would demonstrate specific outcomes of improving the palliative care knowledge of community nurses to improve palliative care outcomes for patients and families. The uniqueness of this program was that we weren’t restricted to a specific approach of program delivery. The requirement was to consult and collaborate with the very people who the service was intended to support (community nurses), to facilitate the development and delivery of a program that they believed would best meet their needs, and those of their patients.
I was reflecting on the privilege of being given an opportunity to contribute to the implementation of national programs and policy as I was writing my own submission to the Australian Menopause Inquiry.
The point of difference of the palliative care program I was involved in (which made a huge and lasting impact across England and Wales) was that in every region local nurses, ‘on the ground’, were invited to share their first-hand experiences and challenges to help shape the future of community palliative care. Their views and contributions were valued and acknowledged, they were central to the development and successful implementation of meaningful and relevant programs. Importantly, the programs responded to the gaps in skills, knowledge and resources that they experienced and reported, and it was responding to their needs that led to improved care for patients and families.
Remarkably, over a decade later my lovely Mum was the recipient of the exceptional nursing care that had been influenced by that program, she passed away at home with the nursing support, skills and knowledge she needed.
So, why I am sharing this today? Because the Australian women have been given a similar opportunity. We have ALL been invited to make a submission to the Menopause Senate Inquiry. We have a rare and potentially once in a lifetime opportunity to have our views and perspectives heard, to inform the future of Australian menopause programs and policy.
How will the Senate know what women need if we don’t tell them?
How will the experts know what the gaps in services are, if we don’t share our experiences?
Menopause experiences are individual and uniquely ours, none of us will experience menopause in the same way, but each experience matters. The greatest value lies in understanding the experiences of women themselves. Women who are doing their best to continue to contribute to their families, communities and workplaces, whilst experiencing the impact of the peri/ menopause transition. Women who are seeking support and not finding it. Women who have had good experiences and those who believe we must do better.
In my role as a Menopause & Cancer Health Coach, I hear every day of the struggles women face and I have so many ideas of how we can do better. But this blog is not about my ideas, it is a request to you, to make your own submission and share your valued perspectives, just like those palliative care nurses did over 20 years ago. They will have no idea of the impact their contribution made, in my mind they were history makers, creating a better experience for my Mum and so many others since.
Your voice can also make history for the Australian women who deserve to be supported through the menopause experience. If I have convinced you to make a submission (and I hope I have) please shoot me a message and I’ll let you know what to do next. And by the way, men, you can make a submission too, what are your experiences? Or perhaps encourage the women in your life to share theirs.
The final date for submissions is 15 March 2024.
Let’s improve the menopause experience, support and education in our communities and do this together. Thank you for reading. Claire x
YOUR EXPERIENCE MATTERS & YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT
