News
Joondalup doctor leading the way in closing women’s health knowledge gap
Mar 05, 2025
Dr Belinda Russell-Smith has only been in her new role as Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) Hospital Liaison GP since December, but if February's sold-out Women’s Health Masterclass is anything to go by, she is not sparing a minute to rest.
As International Women’s Day approaches, JHC is proud to highlight Dr Russell-Smith's advocacy and proactivity in championing women’s health.
With nearly 20 years of General Practice experience at Beaumaris Family Practice, Dr Russell-Smith not only brings a wealth of experience but also deep community connections to her role.
The audience of 200 GPs at the masterclass heard from JHC specialists on menopause, breast cancer, endometriosis and adenomyosis, contraception, women’s health in older years, dementia and cognitive health, and women’s orthopaedics.
“Based on my experience in practice, women today are more proactive than ever in managing their health,” Dr Russell-Smith said. “This has coincided with a notable rise in general knowledge on current research into women’s health as well as the effects of treatment on women.”
Dr Russell-Smith has seen women no longer afraid to come in with specific questions, noting they were increasingly seeking active involvement in their care and looking for answers and solutions from their GP.
“It is part of my responsibility in bringing a community-focused lens to my new role, to be proactive in driving relationships with and education for general practitioners who are constantly updating their knowledge,” Dr Russell-Smith said.
Other areas of focus at the masterclass included perimenopause and menopause, as well as latest developments in treatment of breast cancer – especially pertinent since a 2022 report identified Australia and New Zealand as having the highest rate of breast cancer diagnoses in the world.
“Many practice changing updates and education points were shared which will support the attending GPs to be confident that they are up to date with current evidence,” Dr Russell-Smith said.
Born in Perth and educated at the University of Western Australia, Dr Russell-Smith continues to work in Perth’s northern corridor in addition to her new role at JHC.
“The community element is a big scope of the GP Liaison role,” says Dr Russell-Smith. “I take a proactive approach to medicine and have already made inroads with GPs in the local area.”
Dr Russell-Smith said GPs were keen for information and upskilling and that was something she was looking forward to encompassing into the role.
“I am really looking forward to proactively looking at how we can improve dialogue between local GPs and the hospital to ensure they are heard,” Dr Russell-Smith said.