Home Services Women’s health

Women’s health, close to home.

Cervical screening, contraception, periods and pelvic pain, perimenopause and menopause, pregnancy planning and the everyday things that get put off. All in one bulk-billing practice on Brisbane Water Drive, West Gosford.

Book an appointment Or call (02) 4311 3800

Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm. No referral needed to see a GP.

Medicare Bulk Billing Practice

We are a Medicare Bulk Billing Practice. Standard consultations are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card.

Women's health care at every age: five women of different ages sitting together and laughing
Care for every stage — from your first cervical screening at 25 to menopause and beyond.
  • Screening on timeCervical screening every five years, with self-collection if you would prefer it
  • One appointmentContraception, periods, menopause and pregnancy planning under one roof
  • Longer if you need itAsk reception for a long appointment when there is more than one thing

We are a Medicare Bulk Billing Practice

Now Accepting New Patients

Walk-ins Welcome

Shop 12, 297–299 Brisbane Water Drive, West Gosford NSW 2250

Open Mon–Fri 8:30am – 5:00pm

Screening & prevention

What’s due at your age?

Australia’s screening programs and routine checks start at different ages and run on different clocks, which is why things get missed. Move the slider to see what generally applies at your age.

34

General information for the Australian population, not a personal screening plan. What is right for you depends on your history.

Book a check-up Ask reception what you are due for

Cervical screening

You can do the test yourself.

Since 2022, every person eligible for cervical screening in Australia has been able to choose self-collection. You take the sample yourself, from a swab, in private. There is no speculum and no examination by the doctor.

It is the same test either way — both samples are checked for HPV, and both are accurate for screening. The doctor still needs to order it and talk you through the result, which is why the visit matters even when you do the swab yourself.

Why this changes things here

All three of our GPs are men. For some women that is the reason a Pap test got put off for years. Self-collection removes the examination from the equation entirely — and you can ask for our practice nurse to be in the room at any point.

Book cervical screening
What exactly is the test looking for?

Human papillomavirus. HPV is a common virus — most people who have ever been sexually active will have had it, and in most cases the body clears it without anything happening. A small number of infections persist, and it is those that can slowly change cervical cells over many years. Testing for HPV, rather than for cell changes, is what allows a five-year interval.

Who is eligible, and how often?

Women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 74 who have ever had sexual contact, every five years. Screening continues even if you have had the HPV vaccine, and even if you are no longer sexually active. There is an exit test between 70 and 74.

When is self-collection not suitable?

A self-collected sample can only be tested for HPV, not for cell changes. So a clinician-collected sample is needed if you have symptoms such as unusual bleeding, pain or discharge, or if you are being followed up after treatment for a cervical abnormality. Self-collection is suitable for routine screening, including during pregnancy.

What happens if HPV is found?

A positive result is common and is not a diagnosis of cancer. What happens next depends on the type. For HPV types 16 or 18 you are referred straight for a colposcopy, a closer look at the cervix. For other types, the sample is checked for cell changes — if the sample was self-collected you will be asked back for a clinician-collected one — and most people simply repeat the HPV test in twelve months. We will explain your result in person, not by text.

What does it cost?

Your consultation is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. The screening test itself is usually billed by the laboratory directly to Medicare — if there is any out-of-pocket cost, reception will tell you before you go ahead.

Contraception

More options than most people realise.

Contraception in Australia changed a lot in 2025. Four new products came onto the PBS, and from November 2025 Medicare increased what it pays for long-acting contraception procedures and added a bulk-billing loading. Here is the landscape, so you can come in with questions rather than a blank page.

Up to 8 years

Hormonal IUD

Hormonal IUD

A small device placed in the uterus, releasing a low dose of progestogen. The 52mg device is approved for eight years of contraception; the smaller 19.5mg device for five. With the 52mg device periods often become lighter and some people stop having them altogether; with the 19.5mg device periods usually lighten but irregular spotting is more common.

Insertion requires specific training. Ring us and ask what we can do here and where we refer.

5–10 years

Copper IUD

Copper IUD

Hormone-free. Depending on the device, it lasts five to ten years. Periods can be heavier. It is also described in guidelines as the most effective form of emergency contraception when fitted within five days.

Not PBS subsidised.

3 years

Implant

Implant

A soft rod placed under the skin of the upper arm, lasting three years. Insertion and removal are done in a single appointment with local anaesthetic, and the Medicare rebate for both increased in November 2025.

Commonly done in general practice — ask us whether we do it here.

Daily

The pill

The pill

Combined and progestogen-only pills. In 2025 the PBS listed new options — Yaz and Yasmin in March, Slinda in May — which cut the annual cost substantially.

Prescribed here, with a review appointment.

Monthly

Vaginal ring

Vaginal ring

A flexible ring you place and change yourself each month. It came onto the PBS in November 2025 in three-month packs, which brought the cost down considerably.

Prescribed here.

12 weeks

Injection

Injection

A progestogen injection given every twelve weeks. Useful if remembering a daily tablet is the problem and an implant or IUD is not what you want.

Given here by the doctor or nurse.

Emergency contraception

Available from a pharmacy without a prescription. Levonorgestrel works up to 72 hours after sex, ulipristal up to 120 hours. Guidelines describe a copper IUD fitted within five days as the most effective option. Both tablets may work less well at a higher body weight, which is worth knowing rather than guessing.

What it costs

Your consultation here is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Separately, if you have a long-acting contraceptive inserted or removed — here or elsewhere — Medicare’s bulk-billing loading only applies where every part of that visit is bulk billed, so it is worth asking the clinic doing the procedure what they charge.

Book a contraception appointment Ask what we can do here

Perimenopause & menopause

The years before — not just the day after.

Menopause is a single point in time: twelve months after your last period. Perimenopause is the stretch before it, and it can run for years while periods are still arriving. Most of what women describe — the 3am waking, the short fuse, the words that go missing — happens in that stretch.

Once only

There is now a dedicated menopause appointment

Since 1 July 2025 Medicare has funded a menopause and perimenopause health assessment for people who have perimenopause or menopause symptoms, early menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency, or who are being treated for them. It runs at least twenty minutes with your GP, once in a twelve-month period, and there is no age cut-off. It covers where you are in the transition, blood pressure and other basics, whether screening or a bone density scan is due, and a proper conversation about the options — both the ones that involve medicine and the ones that do not. Bulk billed here if you are eligible under Medicare.

Hormone therapy, without the jargon

Menopausal hormone therapy — MHT, and what your mum probably called HRT — tops up the oestrogen your body has stopped making. It is used for menopause symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, disturbed sleep, vaginal dryness and bladder changes, and it is also used where low bone density needs managing.

Five things worth knowing:

  • You do not have to stop after five years. The old advice to stop at five years, or when you turn 60, is no longer considered appropriate in Australia. There is no set time limit. It is something you and your GP look at again as time goes on.
  • Patches and gels are usually the first choice. These go through the skin instead of being swallowed. Hormones mixed to order by a compounding pharmacy — often sold as “bio-identical” — are not recommended.
  • Vaginal oestrogen is a different thing. It is a low-dose cream or pessary that works just where you put it, for dryness, discomfort and bladder symptoms. You can use it on its own, or alongside patches and gels.
  • It is not a heart medication. MHT is not used as a way of preventing heart disease.
  • It costs less than it used to. In March 2025, three MHT products went onto the PBS for the first time in over twenty years, which brought the price down considerably.

Whether MHT is right for you depends on your own history, and it does not suit everyone. That is a conversation to have in the room, not a decision to make from a website.

Make a list for your appointment

Tick anything you have noticed in the last few months. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere — this just builds a list you can copy, or read off your phone in the room. It is not a test and it does not diagnose anything.

Cycles
Sleep and energy
Temperature
Mood and thinking
Body
Sex and bladder

Nothing ticked yet.

Book a longer appointment

Periods, pain & hormones

Pain that stops your day is worth investigating.

Period pain that keeps you home from work or school, bleeding you plan your week around, cycles that never settle — these are reasons to book, not things to wait out.

About 1 in 7 by mid-40s

Endometriosis

Endometriosis

Tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, causing pain and sometimes affecting fertility. Around one in seven Australian women born in the 1970s had been diagnosed by their mid-forties.

The hard part has always been the delay. Australian data puts the average gap between symptoms starting and a diagnosis at six to eight years. That gap is closing, partly because the Australian Living Evidence Guideline for endometriosis, published in May 2025, leans more on ultrasound and MRI than on going straight to surgery, and supports starting treatment while the diagnosis is worked out.

There are now 33 Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics nationally, including one at Wyoming, a few minutes up the road. Referral arrangements differ by clinic, so check with them first.

Around 1 in 8

PCOS — now also called PMOS

PCOS — now also called PMOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome affects around one in eight Australian women, and may be more common in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. In May 2026 it was formally renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), with a three-year transition. The name changed because “polycystic” pointed at ovarian cysts, which turn out not to be a real feature of the condition. Nothing about how it is diagnosed or managed changed.

It is diagnosed on a combination of irregular ovulation, signs of higher androgen levels, and sometimes an ultrasound or an AMH blood test — though where the first two are both clearly present, neither scan nor blood test is needed. In the first eight years after periods start, scans are not used for diagnosis at all.

GP management covers cycles, skin and hair, fertility if relevant, and the metabolic side — cholesterol at diagnosis, blood pressure yearly, glucose every one to three years.

Common, treatable

Heavy bleeding and iron

Heavy bleeding and iron

Heavy periods are one of the most common reasons for low iron, and low iron is one of the most common reasons for the flat, foggy tiredness women get told is just life.

Ferritin is the blood test that matters most. A level under 30 is considered diagnostic of iron deficiency in an adult — including in pregnancy, at any stage. A low iron level on its own, without ferritin, does not tell you much.

Worth investigating the cause as well as treating the number.

Thyroid, and why we do not test everyone

Australian guidance does not recommend thyroid screening in people without symptoms, including in pregnancy. It is a test we reach for when there is a reason. In pregnancy that means symptoms, a known thyroid problem or type 1 diabetes. Outside pregnancy the list is wider, and includes a goitre, a family history of thyroid disease, or coeliac disease.

When to bring it up sooner

Bleeding after sex, bleeding between periods, bleeding after menopause, pain that is getting worse, or a change you cannot explain. Ring us and say what it is — reception will find you a spot rather than a form.

Planning a pregnancy

The appointment to book before you start trying.

A preconception visit is one of the most useful appointments to book, and one of the least booked. It is worth booking a few months before you start trying, so there is time to go through everything without rushing.

  • Folate and iodine. Both matter in early pregnancy. What you need, and when to start, depends on your own history — so it is something to work out with your GP rather than guess at in a pharmacy aisle.
  • Your vaccination history. Some vaccines are given before pregnancy and others during it, so the timing matters. We check your records and sort out the order.
  • Reproductive genetic carrier screening. A one-off blood test that looks at whether you carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy or fragile X. Most people who carry one have no family history at all. Medicare has covered it since November 2023 for anyone planning a pregnancy or newly pregnant, and we can talk through what it involves.
  • Your medicines and any health conditions. Some regular medicines are better reviewed before you conceive than after a positive test, and conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure and thyroid problems are easier to look at beforehand.
  • Anything on your mind. How long you have been trying, cycles that have changed, a previous loss, something that runs in your family. All of it belongs in this appointment.

Once you are pregnant

Shared antenatal care

Shared antenatal care

In NSW, GP shared care means most of your check-ups happen here, with key visits at the hospital, and the hospital team looking after labour and birth. It keeps the routine appointments close to home. Ask us whether your GP is registered for shared care with the hospital you plan to birth at.

Free in pregnancy

Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program

Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program

Whooping cough, influenza and RSV are all free during pregnancy through the National Immunisation Program, and they are given at particular points along the way. Your GP will let you know which ones apply to you and when each one is due.

First antenatal visit

The bloods that are routine

The bloods that are routine

There is a standard set of blood and urine tests at the first pregnancy visit, covering things like your blood count, blood group and a screen for infections that can affect a baby. Some extra tests are added depending on your age and history. We go through the list with you before anything is ordered.

Book a preconception visit Or call (02) 4311 3800

How we work

Practical things that make it easier to come in.

01

Ask for a longer appointment

If you have more than one thing to raise, say so when you book. A standard consultation runs about fifteen minutes and a list of five things will not fit in it.

02

Ask for a chaperone

You can ask for our practice nurse to be in the room for any examination, at any time, without giving a reason.

03

Choose self-collection

For cervical screening you can take the sample yourself. Tell reception when you book so enough time is set aside.

04

Bring your list

Written down, on your phone, in any order. It is easier than remembering, and it means the important thing does not get raised at the door.

05

Book results properly

Results get their own appointment. That way there is time to explain what they mean rather than reading numbers over the phone.

06

See the same GP

Seeing the same GP makes it easier to follow things over time. Book with whoever you saw last where you can.

Questions

Women’s health questions, answered.

Do I need a referral to see a GP about women's health?

No. You can book directly with any of our GPs. A referral is only needed if you go on to see a specialist, and we write that for you.

Is women's health care bulk billed at Gosford Doctors?

All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card, including cervical screening, contraception appointments and the Medicare menopause health assessment where you meet the criteria for it. Some items, such as privately purchased vaccines, attract a fee, and reception will tell you the amount before you agree to anything.

Can I collect my own cervical screening sample?

Yes. Self-collection has been available to everyone eligible for cervical screening in Australia since 2022. You take the swab yourself in private, with no speculum and no examination. A doctor still orders the test and goes through the result with you. It is not suitable if you have symptoms such as unusual bleeding or pain, or if you are being followed up after treatment for a cervical abnormality.

Are your doctors male or female?

All three of our GPs are men. You can ask for our practice nurse to be in the room for any examination, and for cervical screening you can collect the sample yourself, which removes the examination entirely.

How often do I need a cervical screening test?

Every five years between the ages of 25 and 74, if your results are normal. This applies whether or not you have had the HPV vaccine. There is an exit test between 70 and 74.

At what age can I have a free mammogram in NSW?

BreastScreen NSW invites women aged 50 to 74 every two years. Free screening is also available from age 40 and from 75 onwards, but you have to book yourself in rather than wait for an invitation. No GP referral is needed at any age.

I think I might be perimenopausal. What should I book?

Ask reception for a longer appointment and mention it is about perimenopause. Since July 2025 Medicare has funded a dedicated menopause and perimenopause health assessment of at least twenty minutes, once every twelve months, for people with symptoms of perimenopause or menopause, early menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency. There is no age cut-off, and it is bulk billed here if you are eligible.

Can I get an IUD or a contraceptive implant at the clinic?

Contraceptive implants are commonly inserted and removed in general practice. IUD insertion requires specific training, so please ring reception and ask what we can do here and where we refer if needed. Medicare rebates for both procedures increased in November 2025.

How long does it take to get an endometriosis diagnosis?

Australian data puts the average at between six and eight years from the start of symptoms, though that gap is narrowing. The Australian Living Evidence Guideline published in May 2025 makes more use of ultrasound and MRI rather than going straight to surgery. There are also 33 dedicated Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics nationally, including one at Wyoming.

What does a preconception appointment cover?

Supplements such as folate and iodine, your vaccination history, any regular medicines, and reproductive genetic carrier screening. What is right for you depends on your own history, so it is worked out in the appointment rather than off a list. Booking a few months before you start trying gives you time to go through it properly.

I am always tired. What gets checked?

Usually a blood count and ferritin first, since heavy periods and low iron are a common pair. Ferritin under 30 is considered diagnostic of iron deficiency in an adult. Thyroid and other tests are added when there is a reason for them rather than as routine.

When should I have a bone density scan?

Medicare covers a scan for everyone aged 70 and over. Earlier scans are covered where there is a specific reason, including a fracture after a minor fall, long-term steroid use, or early menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency before the age of 45. Australian guidance does not recommend scanning the whole population at any age.

This page is general information for people in the Gosford and Central Coast area. It is not advice about your situation, and it does not replace a consultation. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 4311 3800. In an emergency, call 000.

Book the thing you have been putting off.

Cervical screening, contraception, perimenopause, period pain, planning a pregnancy. Book online in under a minute, or call reception and say what it is about so they can set aside enough time. All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card.

Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm · Shop 12, 297–299 Brisbane Water Drive, West Gosford · Serving Gosford, West Gosford, Point Clare, Narara, Wyoming, Springfield, Tascott, Koolewong, East Gosford, Erina, Green Point and Lisarow.

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