Calls for vending machines in hospitals after women denied period products

When Samantha Bruce got her period in the Wollongong Hospital's Emergency Department earlier this year she asked staff for a pad or tampon.

"I was given an adult nappy, an incontinence aid," she said.

"[My support worker and I] looked at each other in shock, but basically I wore it because I would not have anything else to use."

Ms Bruce said she had been denied period products multiple times while in hospital over several years, sometimes given nothing at all.

"It made me feel small and dehumanised," she said.

"As a sexual assault survivor it is very exposing and it makes you feel it like you don't matter really."

In 2022, NSW Health published a bulletin saying public hospital patients who needed period products would be provided with them.

Ms Bruce is now calling for vending machine-style dispensers of pads, tampons and underwear to be installed in every NSW hospital, an initiative she calls My Monthly Matters.

It has the support of local psychiatrist Karen Williams.

She said her patient who was a sexual assault survivor called her after she soiled her pants during an asthma attack in the emergency department.

"When they cut off her underwear, they just left her without any underwear or pants at all," Dr Williams said.

"Why do we even have to have this conversation? These are basic things that women need."

Last year's national survey by not-for-profit Share the Dignity heard from almost 43,000 people in NSW.

Thirteen per cent of them said they were not able to get period products when they asked for them in hospitals.

The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, which runs Wollongong Hospital, said in a statement it provided free period products and had spare clothing available for patients in need.

"We acknowledge how distressing it can be to not have access to period products when needed," the district said.

Ms Bruce said she had received dozens of stories over the years since NSW Health's 2022 bulletin.

"One lady, she was in ICU and she got given a gauze when she got her period," she said.

"We had women who were left to bleed through, had nothing on, and that's a situation I've been left in before."

An 'obvious' solution

Analysis by the Australia Institute estimated the cost of installing and stocking dispensers to be between $1.5 million and $7 million a year.

Researcher Skye Predevac said the most expensive option would make up less than 0.02 per cent of the total NSW Health budget.

"This is a really obvious problem with a really obvious solution," she said.

Dr Williams said a dispenser model would remove pressure from staff.

"The staff are really busy, they're running around looking after people in pain, maybe dying, and it is the kind of thing that will be triaged as low priority," she said.

"It's a lot easier for a patient if it's all there for her to choose."

As part of its analysis, the Australia Institute found 75 per cent of respondents supported free pads, tampons and underwear in NSW hospitals.

"People want to see free period products in hospitals, just like they want to see water or wi-fi free in hospitals," Ms Predevac said.

The initiative has been endorsed by The Royal College of Australian and New Zealand Psychiatrists which said in a letter of support that inappropriate period care caused distress and indignity, particularly for mental health patients or victim survivors of abuse.

Proposal 'considered'

Samantha Bruce said she presented the proposal and costings to NSW Health Minister Ryan Park's office in September.

Mr Park said he would consider the proposal.

"I can't give an answer as to whether we'll roll that out," he said.

"What I can say is that there's an expectation for me that these products should be available to women when they access our health services."

In a statement he added an apology to "the patient for any distress that may have been caused by her experience in our hospital".

Ms Bruce said the need for a solution was "urgent".