New clinic aims to break stigma around period health and fertility conditions

A first-of-its kind period clinic has been set up with the aim of speeding diagnosis and breaking stigma around period health and fertility conditions.

Hekate develops management plans for patients experiencing the likes of endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premenstrual syndrome and other fertility, pain and mood-related issues.

Hekate opened its doors in February in leased premises in Dunedin and is already hitting a large gap in the market, says clinic director Elizabeth Bromley, a registered nurse and clinical nutritionist, who decided not to wait for someone else to fix the problem.

She and two colleagues launched the private, nurse-led service and hope it will one day be publicly funded. Clients currently receive a free 20-minute “journey consultation” and then are required to pay $110 per session.

While Hekate does not employ any prescribers and largely works as a triage service for primary, secondary and tertiary care, Ms Bromley says the clinic has potential to take pressure off general practice and keep people out of the emergency department.

She has already had patients report they need fewer visits to their GP because their conditions are becoming more manageable.

Reducing the diagnosis time for people with conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis is an important step to sourcing funding, Ms Bromley says.

She notes Hekate’s fastest turnaround time for one client – who selfreferred after years of mistreatment – was three months for diagnosis, surgery and a successful pain management programme, but this normally takes seven years on average.

Fifteen-minute appointments in general practice are not built for period care, adds Ms Bromley.

Alongside its triage and referral service, Hekate also educates clients on how to recognise period issues, and how to communicate with GPs and other doctors about them.

Ms Bromley says patients often feel dejected and hopeless after years of ignored and overlooked symptoms.

Negating harmful myths around the relationship between reproductive health and weight loss, Ms Bromley says “our focus is the hormonal imbalance, which is the cause of weight gain, not the other way around”.

Hekate has recently launched an online course to educate people about what period symptoms are normal and to unpack social-media myths.

It’s important to the company to be as inclusive as possible, as their clinic is there to serve a whole range of ethnicities and genders, Ms Bromley says.

READ MORE

• Simple measures for reducing the impact of periods in young people
• Free period products in schools a ‘circuit-breaker’ for young people

Contrary to widespread belief, period care is not just required for women: many of Hekate’s clients are gender diverse and non-binary, so the care must be people focused, rather than existing to serve only women.

‘’Branding and language are important, while ‘women’s health’ is a great search term, all people with a uterus are affected by [period issues], and that includes a whole bunch of people that don’t often feel represented.”

Ms Bromley launched Hekate with nutritionist and medical herbalist Isobella D’Aiello (Ngāti Kahungunu) who is now the executive director, and clinic manager Ellana Dubé. The team then employed associate registered nutritionist Vigneshwar Muthukumar. The clinic name comes from the Greek goddess Hekate, who is associated with witchcraft, magic, and creatures of the night.