Constituency questions
Croydon electorate
Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (14:47): (6186) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health. Can the minister please provide assurances to women and girls who attend public hospitals in Victoria and require access to sanitary products that ample supply is available in all our public hospitals? Maroondah Hospital is a local hospital near my electorate. It is great at caring for those in need, but I am informed by patients who have attended that women cannot access free sanitary items such as period products or maternity pads when needed. Patients can get bandaids, bandages, painkillers or incontinence aids in hospital; however, sanitary products are not freely available. Several constituents have raised this concern with my office and informed me that women have been forced to bleed through their hospital gowns and use unsuitable alternatives like dressings because period products were not available. The government provides every Victorian government school with access to free pads and tampons and has freely stated that sanitary items are a necessity, not a luxury, so I find it extraordinary that our health system does not have the means to help patients who are sick and vulnerable manage their period with dignity.