Dr Bernadette McElhinney / Western Australian Gynae & Surgery

I felt so privileged I couldn’t resist crying so many times while in the presence of Dr Acton.

After having my pain minimised or invalidated, being dismissed by other doctors and gynaecologists for years with a condition that affects 1 in 7 women in Australia, I finally found myself in her office. I finally felt heard, seen, and cared for.
After recent scans were done, she reviewed what she expected was going on, and gave us a thorough analysis of our options.

Now - only days after a very intense surgery. Words cannot express how grateful I am for her and her team at St. John’s. I can already feel a difference and look forward to continued healing and planning for our future.

Thank you so much.

Absolutely amazing care! The staff are so kind approachable and friendly. I was super impressed by Dr Cliffords attention to detail and follow up! I was quite anxious going into the appointment but she made me feel comfortable with her caring manner. Can’t recommend her highly enough.

I have seen Dr Jesse Clifford twice (pre pregnancy and post pregnancy). Every consultation I have had with Dr Clifford has been exceptional. She has been very thorough, detailed and explained and answered multiple questions without any rush or judgement.
More than anything, Dr Clifford has been very caring and compassionate whilst showing great professionalism and passion. I would highly recommend Dr Clifford to any family or friends and have no hesitation in seeing her in the future.

I had a great experience with Dr Jade Acton. I was explained my surgery in details and had my questions answered. I was quite impressed with doctor’s knowledge, professionalism and care. I feel quite fortunate that I was referred to Dr Acton’s practice. Overall experience with medical staff including nurses at St John of God in Subiaco throughout the process has been excellent.

DO NOT GO TO THIS PRACTICE! My GP told me they are good doctors, they are NOT! PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS PRACTICE.

My experience is as follows:

My GP referred me to this practice and I saw the bad reviews, however my GP insisted that they were really good doctors, so I went with the appointment anyways with Dr Jesse Clifford. As soon as we agreed on an IUD, she seemed uninterested and was on her phone while talking to me. I paid $550 for the appointment and $200 for the IUD itself.

I started bleeding a lot after the placement and the nurse was very dismissive about the fact that I was bleeding and talked down to me.

3 weeks later on my holidays in Europe, due to strange pain, I had a look and I saw the string of the IUD between my legs and I felt the plastic of the IUD. The emergency doctor told me to pull it out myself and see a specialist as soon as possible.
The specialist in Scandinavia told me that she couldn’t get passed the second muscle at all and gave me anaesthesia to place the IUD, and if the Australian doctor didn’t do that, there was no way the IUD was placed correctly. Afterwards, the Scandinavian doctor used ultrasound to check if it’s placed correctly, and the doctor wondered why I wasn’t checked for STDs prior to the IUD as well.

Daughter was dismissed by by Dr Jade Acton after a quick 15 minute appointment, made to feel inadequate, referred her to see a nutritionist even though we had already been done this path. We have since discovered, she did have what we went to see her about in the first place.

Four people at the counter and not one could say Hello. I waited and waited, clearly no one was going to. Perhaps this is the modern Subiaco way of greeting clients. Treated with distain from the moment I walked in, the only thing I noticed was the overwhelming smell of dirty carpet. I was referred and then my referal was refused, the receptionist was given this to say " Dr Acton won't see you for a second opinion"
In my response I said I'm not after a second opinion I'm after a diagnosis first"
I was then barked at " she won't see you"

Not even courteous enough to write to the Referring GP to explain why the referal was declined.

Everyone is entitled to healthcare in this country, clearly money can't even buy it. Disgraceful.

The office is very clean and modern. The staff were all friendly. Dr Acton was very professional and it felt like a collaborative experience which isn’t always the care in healthcare. The doctor did a thorough assessment and was very friendly. Very impressed with the doctors professionalism and knowledge. Will look forward to see if i have the same experience in 4 months. Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is not related to Dr Acton as all but the process to see her Involved a long wait list so be prepared to wait. I also had a lot of trouble finding parking so give yourself enough time. You can claim part of the consultation back through Medicare so that’s great. Overall ***** star experience from the Drs and medical staff thank you

DR McElhinney has been my Gynie for many years and she is a caring, professional that has always put me at my ease by addressing any concerns I might have prior to my asking. She is a gifted surgeon who has operated on me several times and I have found her team to be one of the finest groups of medical staff around.

I would have liked to have been given antibiotics after my operation because now (3 months later) I find myself having issues that could have been prevented most likely with better after-care treatment. I am a bit dumb-founded that this didn't happen. I had an endometrial polyp removed but even if this is a minor procedure, I would expect an antibiotic would be given to reduce the risk of infection.

Disorganised and over-committed. Did hospital ward rounds at 6am one morning, 5: 45am the next. I had been sleeping so unable to ask the questions required. Next morning, I set my alarm for 6am and had questions ready. She turned up at 5: 45am so again I was unable to ask more Q’s about the operation, when I could drive, what to lift, what housework I could/couldn’t do. I emailed her and got an unqualified response from her receptionist to “listen to my body”.
This was after much stress in the lead up to my surgery, due to delays caused by Bernie not acting timely on my ultrasound results. When I chased up results for this I was told they had not received results (I don’t believe because the Ultrasound surgery, POGU had always been very efficient). Action to book in surgery was only taken when I called and emailed her office several times. This delay happened while I was in serious pain due to stage 4/5 endometriosis.
Once my surgery was booked I requested another appointment with Bernie before surgery since I had not seen her for 6 moths, and ultrasound scans showed it was much more complicated than first thought, so I had more questions and concerns. Her receptionist told me Bernie was fully booked and could not see me. Bernie did call me so at least I knew that she actually looked at my ultrasound before the surgery.
This lack of care left me going into surgery very nervous. It was then compounded by Bernie’s 5: 45/6am ward rounds not facilitating me being able to get more advice, I left the hospital very upset feeling unprepared for recovery.
Once I submitted feedback to the hospital about Bernie’s rounds being too early, she emailed me that she also works for the public system and needs to do rounds early to be ready for calls from the public hospital by 8/9am. Why should my care be compromised due to her other commitments?

Awesome having early morning appointments- takes the stress away of trying to manage time off work

The care i received was great and the receptionist just lovely. My issue was the hidden costs that they don't tell you about. I asked more than once what my total out of pocket cost would be, yet i have received two bills from the clinical laboratories totaling around $600-700 altogether.i have now been taken to debt collectors to get the last amount from me as i just couldn't afford any more costs. Other people i have spoken to who have had this procedure have not incurred these extra costs. Very disappointed as the rest of the service was good.

Amazing, Dr McElhinney took the time to listen to me and showed genuine care. She has a very warming personality and she is extremely good at what she does. It can be nerve racking attending a Gynaecologist appointment however I instantly felt comfortable at my first consultation and her secretary is very warm and welcoming and assisted me with all of my bookings. I am ever so grateful for being under the care of Dr McElhinney. Highly recommend!

Cannot say enough about the level of care I received from Dr McElhinney and her staff.
Dr M saw me in the early hours of the morning as it was the only time I could see her ahead of a trip away for work.
She patiently answered the many questions I had.
The recovery from my hysterectomy was better than from when I had my gall bladder out. I was shocked.
I made a couple of calls to the office with questions post op and they were always patient and helpful when answering my questions.

Absolutely the worst experience of my life. Prior to attending my appointment I called and asked how much the appointment would cost. I was very clear I have no money, no Centrelink so I need to save for the appt.they advised absolute maximum cost would be $350, so I turned up for my biopsy testing as scheduled. I paid my $350 then and there but three weeks later received an invoice for another $350! I queried what this was for and they said “oh the testing costs $350 too” I was like “no I made it very clear I only had x amount of money was ASSURED BY THE RECEPTIONIST that this visit would be no more than the $350 I had saved. As someone with no job, no Centrelink this is no small fee. They have since been rude on the phone, referring me to a debt collector and now I have debt collectors after me because of this disgusting practice that clearly needs to retrain their staff. Bunch of liars who just want to get crippled people in the door and take them for all they’re worth. You couldn’t pay me to use this practice again. Ideally I want them to contact the debt collector and cancel this bill but oh well - out of principal I’m not paying it anyway. Disgusting treatment of your clients.

Dr is Knowagable with a kind manor. Receptionist is bubbly, helpful, caring informative. They Work together to helpful to go above and beyond. Phone calls, letters, speaking to King ed etc.