LUMC is opening a dedicated outpatient clinic for female employees who are experiencing women-specific health problems. Too often, women with symptoms such as menstrual pain or menopausal complaints are not taken seriously and do not receive the right support. LUMC wants to change that.
Ben Cohlen says: “We know that many women are dealing with symptoms that affect their lives and their work. Figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), for example, show that more than 10% of female employees are briefly absent from work due to hormonal or menstruation-related complaints. Women often live with these symptoms for a long time. These may include menstrual pain, incontinence or menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes. In many cases, there is something we can do about them. We want to help our female colleagues who are experiencing symptoms to regain their enjoyment of life and work. Hopefully, this will also have a positive effect on sickness absence at LUMC.”
Sabine van der Wolk is proud that this outpatient clinic is now available to female colleagues: “We created our outpatient clinic to help our female colleagues. They receive a free consultation with Ben or me. During that consultation, we listen to the woman’s symptoms and discuss the possible options. We look at what the woman can do herself, possibly with the help of reliable websites. And if a referral to a GP or another hospital is needed, we help with that too. With this outpatient clinic, we hope to genuinely lower the threshold for visiting a GP or specialist. Because for all kinds of reasons, women often wait too long to do so. And that is not necessary.”
Learning for the future
Ben and Sabine hope that the conversations they will have at the outpatient clinic will help female employees. Ben says: “With this outpatient clinic, we will gain insight into which symptoms are common among women and why they continue to live with them. That will provide valuable insights for the future, because it will help us learn how to improve women’s healthcare. We hope to help many female colleagues at the outpatient clinic and that, in the longer term, it will actually lead to a better quality of life and less absenteeism.”
Women-Specific Conditions Clinic
The Women-Specific Conditions Clinic (VSA clinic) is open to all female employees of LUMC. The clinic focuses on four types of symptoms:
- Hormonal complaints
- Menstruation-related complaints
- Menopausal symptoms
- Incontinence and prolapse symptoms
During a free consultation, the gynaecologists talk with the women about their symptoms. In consultation with the employee, an internal examination, including an ultrasound, may also be carried out. Together, they then look at possible and appropriate next steps.
Women’s healthcare at LUMC
At LUMC, we are driven by health. We pursue this in care, education and research, including in areas where there is still a major lack of knowledge, such as women’s health. Throughout the month of June, we are sharing stories from practice, science and care. Stay up to date via our channels!
