Select Committee on Access to Urinary Tract Infection Treatment

Thursday 28 September 2023 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:28): I rise to speak as a member of the committee for access to UTI treatment. I would like to begin my remarks by thanking the member for Badcoe for initiating this investigation. It is incredibly worthwhile work and you have begun making a difference to women's lives and I thank you for that. It is incredibly important and will be highly valued from here on in. 

Health care, unfortunately, is highly gendered and women often find it very difficult for people to listen to their concerns, to take their health issues seriously and for, in fact, research to be done properly with regard to health issues that impact purely women, so this has been a real opportunity for us as a committee to make a difference in that regard. I am very pleased to be a part of recommending a report for accessible and safe health care for women who are suffering from a UTI. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who took time to provide evidence, both the sufferers and the professionals, who had an interest in this matter. I also acknowledge that it is not for everyone an easy thing to talk about publicly, and the fact that they did has really meant that we have been able to thoroughly investigate this issue, and I do thank them for that. 

I, too, would like to state how thorough I believe the committee has been in our deliberations. That has also been supported by the work of the parliamentary staff who have worked on the committee: our secretary and research officer. We could not have done this work in such a thorough and timely fashion without their support, and I thank Patrick Dupont and Dr Amy Mead for their work. 

I would also like to thank the member for Waite, the member for Unley and the member for Frome. It has really been a worthwhile investigation. I, too, would like to state on the record that our work together has been collegial and we have always taken the time to listen to each other, consider different views and want to find a way through. I really appreciate having had the opportunity to be on this committee. 

I do not have anything to add with regard to our recommendations, other than I am so pleased with what we have put together in this report and I commend it to the house.