Clinic aims to reduce barriers to accessing care.

A pop-up health clinic for women in Waterloo to improve access to health care services has been launched. 

The first clinic was successfully run at Waterloo Community Centre during Women’s Health Week (4 – 8 September 2023). 

The theme for this year’s Women’s Health Week is ‘Grow your knowledge’ and aims to support women to make informed decisions about their health with information that's easy to understand. 

The pop-up clinic is a partnership between Sydney Local Health District’s Priority Populations Programs, Diversity Programs & Strategy Hub and Leichhardt Women’s Community Health Centre (LWCHC). 

Staff from the District were on hand at the clinic to share information on health services while a registered women’s health nurse from LWCHC assisted community members with health screenings, including self-collected cervical screening tests. 

“We’re here to try to improve access for women to health and health services,” said Ana Romero, Program Manager of Women’s Health in the District. 

“We aim to reach women in the Aboriginal and CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities, and women living in social housing or experiencing homelessness.

Women’s health nurse Comfort Danquah said, “I believe that offering these services initially is a leading pathway to reorient them to other health services to continue the care through reassurance and encouragement.” 

Running a clinic at the Community Centre helps to inform and engage clients who may not regularly visit their GP or use health services. 

“We’re on their neighbourhood, which is extremely important,” said Athena Mumbulla, a Senior Aboriginal Health Worker with the District. 

“It’s about bringing the services to the people where they are. We’ve got women coming to talk to the nurse about different health issues they have, which is good.” 

There was also a social worker from the District’s Integrated Community Care Team at the clinic to help support women facing issues such as domestic violence and disability that could act as barriers to accessing healthcare. 

Meanwhile, Cultural Support Worker Nancy Tam from the District’s Diversity Programs & Strategy Hub helped to engage Mandarin-speaking consumers and ensure they are linked to services they need. 

Many women from CALD backgrounds struggle to access care, she explained. 

“Some don’t speak a lot of English or they don’t want to go to the doctor but they are open to it when they meet someone from the same background as them,” said Nancy. 

The clinic is set to be held at Waterloo Community Centre on the first Wednesday of each month from 10:30am to 12:30pm.