Coming Back to a Very Different No.1

By Celeste, Patient Services and Coordination Team Leader

I have been part of No.1 Fertility for six years, but coming back from maternity leave after having my second baby, a very special No.1 baby, has almost felt like coming back to a different clinic.

So much has changed while I have been away. We have grown, we now have a clinic in Sydney, there are new doctors and new people across the organisation, and technology is becoming a much bigger part of how patients communicate with us and access their care. At the same time, the thing I probably noticed most when I returned is that the personal side of No.1 has remained just as important.

I have come back to lead our Patient Services and Coordination Team, which now includes Daisy, Kate, Anita and Georgia. We spend a lot of our day talking with people who are at the beginning of their fertility journey, helping them understand their options, coordinate appointments and work out what their next step might be.

The team itself has also developed. Anita and Kate have both been cross trained across Patient Care and Bookings, giving them the opportunity to develop their careers while gaining a broader understanding of the patient journey. Daisy is one of our senior team members and recently celebrated her first anniversary with No.1. She is also known for keeping the team very well supplied with her homemade cookies.

People sometimes think this part of a fertility clinic is simply about finding an appointment in a diary, but it is much more than that. Someone may have been thinking about treatment for months or even years before they finally make contact. They may want to know which doctor they should see, how soon they can get started, what happens at the first appointment, what tests they might need or what treatment could cost.

Having now experienced fertility treatment myself, I probably understand that side of the conversation even more than I did before. I know what it feels like to place your trust in a doctor and a fertility team, and how many questions can go through your mind along the way. That is why I think it is important that when somebody contacts No.1, they feel they are speaking with people who know the clinic, know the doctors and understand the different treatment pathways.

There is also a close connection between our Patient Services and Coordination Team and our medical team. Georgia, for example, is undertaking her Master of Science in Sexual and Reproductive Health, giving her another level of knowledge and understanding that she can bring to conversations with patients.

Georgia has been completing her Masters alongside Dr Kimberley, and I think that says a lot about the way people work together at No.1. We have people in different roles learning alongside each other, sharing knowledge and bringing that back into the way we support patients.

It has also been wonderful coming back and seeing how much Kimberley’s practice has grown. She is opening more appointments as demand continues to increase, and patients really respond to the warmth and personal approach she brings to fertility care. Her Meet Our Doctors video on our website is also a great way for people to get a sense of who she is before they come into the clinic, which can make choosing a fertility specialist feel a little easier.

Another obvious change since I have been away has been technology. More patients are now booking appointments online through HotDoc, giving them the flexibility to choose a time that suits them rather than having to make every arrangement over the phone.

Behind the scenes, Lexie and the wider project team are also developing our new electronic medical record system and a completely new patient portal. The aim is to create a smoother and easier experience for patients, with better access to information, clearer communication and a simpler way to follow what is happening throughout treatment.

Anyone who has been through fertility treatment knows there can be a lot to keep track of, including appointments, instructions, results, medications, consent forms and communication with different parts of the clinic. Bringing more of that together in one place should make the experience easier to navigate and reduce some of the unnecessary complexity.

For me, that is where technology can really make a difference. It should make things simpler for patients, but it should never replace the human side of fertility care. There are still times when somebody wants to ask a question, speak with someone who understands what they are going through or simply get some reassurance about what happens next.

No.1 has also become much bigger since I first joined six years ago. We now have Melbourne and Sydney, a larger medical team and programs such as No.1 On the Road taking fertility education into workplaces, sporting organisations and the community.

Despite that growth, No.1 still feels very personal from the inside. We remain doctor led, our specialists are actively involved in how the clinic operates, and there is a genuine connection between our doctors, nurses, embryologists, scientists, sonographers, administration teams and the people who support patients from their first enquiry.

That matters because fertility treatment is not just a clinical process. It is a very personal experience with many people involved along the way. It might start with Daisy, Kate, Anita, Georgia or me answering the phone, responding to an online enquiry or helping somebody coordinate their first appointment. It then becomes a consultation with a doctor, conversations with nurses and the work happening in our laboratories.

Hopefully, somewhere down the track, it becomes a positive pregnancy test, a heartbeat or one of those baby photos that eventually makes its way back to the clinic. Those are the moments that remind you why every part of the journey matters.

In my case, coming back has also meant returning to work with my own No.1 baby at home. That gives me a different perspective now because I have experienced this clinic not only as a team member, but also as a patient.

There is more technology here now, more choice, more doctors and a much larger organisation than the one I first joined. But the part that matters most has stayed the same. There are knowledgeable and caring people here who genuinely want to help patients through what can be one of the biggest journeys of their lives.

It is very good to be back.

Celeste
Patient Services and Coordination Team Leader
No.1 Fertility