HEALTH CARE BRIEF: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
With
Dr Kavipriya Soma, GP
Athena Women’s Clinic,
Bentley, Western Australia
HEALTH CARE BRIEF SEGMENT
Filmed in Perth | June 2026
AN EARNED MEDIA RELEASE
Lived experience & personal management, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options
About the presenter
Dr. Kavipriya Soma is a General Practitioner and former GP Obstetrician with more than 16 years of post-fellowship experience dedicated to women’s health and maternity care. Her career began as a specialist obstetrician in India, before she completed her FRACGP in 2008. Since then, she has worked in both rural and metropolitan settings—first in Queenstown, Tasmania, followed by roles at Rockingham Hospital and Bentley Maternity Health Services in Western Australia. She now serves as the Practice Principal of Athena Women’s Clinic, which is dedicated to the health of women and children.
Beyond clinical practice, Dr. Soma is passionate about improving systems of care for women and families. She serves on the WA Primary Health Alliance GP Advisory Committee and the Perinatal and Infant Mortality Committee. Additionally, she has contributed to the National Maternity Workforce Strategy Project Team and the Multidisciplinary Maternity & Newborn Policy Advisory Group.
Her clinical interests span antenatal and postnatal care, menopause, pelvic floor health, ultrasound, and emerging regenerative therapies. Dr. Soma is committed to ensuring that all women, regardless of their background, receive compassionate, high-quality care, while also mentoring students and colleagues to carry this work forward.
Source: Adapted from supplied
Production support: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
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World first in rural and remote nursing
In March 2023, the Australian Government released the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023–2027. The Framework is a world first and describes the unique context of practice and core capabilities for rural and remote Registered Nurses in Australia.
The Framework was developed by the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner and Australian Health Journal spoke with National Rural Health Commissioner, Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, and Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner – Nursing and Midwifery, Adjunct Professor Shelley Nowlan, on the importance of rural and remote nursing and of the Framework itself.
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Pharmacy led men’s urological health
Men’s urological needs refer to the medical and surgical conditions that affect the male urinary tract system and reproductive organs.
A urologist can address these concerns, however a pharmacy-led model of care developed by Brad Butt, called Mens Health Downunder has offered an alternative to certain urological needs of the male adult population over the past 10 years.
Australian Health Journal met with Brad to hear about his journey, Mens Health Downunder and the impact the pharmacy-led model of care has had on patient’s urological as well as mental health.
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Delivering anaesthetic services to countries where surgical services can’t be provided
Dr Wendy Falloon is an Anaesthetist of over 30 years experience and a Fellow of Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). She studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, and worked in Hobart, Sydney and the Uk while completing her specialist qualifications. Her primary professional focus has always been to deliver the best possible experience of anaesthesia to each and every patient, and for them to know that she sees and values them, and their stories.
Having been born in Africa, she realised even as a child that health and wealth were largely a product of where people happen to be born. This sowed the seed of her ongoing desire to be of help to others in less fortunate circumstances, ultimately leading to her volunteer work with the Mercy Ships charity. This is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her career, and she has volunteered in Africa with Mercy Ships 8 times since 2014.
