Bourn Hall Wickford helps patients make up for lost time

Expanding the Wickford team

Dr Arpita Ray is the lead clinician at Bourn Hall Wickford, she says: “We were given just three weeks to safely stop treatment; we phoned hundreds of patients and gave those that had started treatment the option to continue and freeze their embryos or to suspend their treatment with no knowledge of when it might start again.”

The clinic started to reopen in May 2020 and has introduced remote working and virtual consultations, strengthened its links with GP practices and regional hospitals and is investing in its team to increase their capabilities.

Worried about your fertility, talk to your GP 

The first step in your journey is a visit to your GP.  We are delighted that Dr Humera Zaheen, a fertility consultant and practicing GP has joined the team.

Dr Zaheen is an experienced gynaecologist who also works as a portfolio GP across several practices, advising patients at the very start of their journey. As a fertility specialist she is also able to recognise when they should be fast-tracked for diagnosis, particularly those over 35 when fertility declines.

“When this job came up it was really a blessing,” she says. “And it’s been very good. It’s an honour to join such a wonderful team. They say Bourn Hall is like a family and it really does feel like a family.”

Greeted by patient services – Abi joins the team

The first point of contact with the clinic is often through patient services, and former utilities company customer relationship manager Abbi Potts jumped at the chance to join the team. “I’m local to the clinic, and I wanted to work closer to home; the pandemic makes you realise things like that.

“I was just really eager for this job. Helping people to have children is so much more fulfilling than sorting out electricity and gas! I’m really enjoying it – learning new things every day.”

Any questions? Talk to a fertility nurse like Katie 

Bourn Hall has also attracted fertility nurses like Katie Rees who was working for a London clinic and was keen to work in a smaller team where staff have the opportunity to really get to know all the patients. She says: “I was a bit nervous starting at Bourn Hall as it was in the middle of the pandemic, and I wasn’t sure what to expect but I love my job. When patients first come in, you explain the basics, see them as they go through the treatment, and hopefully at the end they come back with a baby – it’s not often in nursing you get to see the whole process from start to finish. It’s one of the only fields of nursing where the patients aren’t sick and you’re bringing joy to them.”

Katie has just completed a nurse prescriber’s course at the University of Essex, supported by Bourn Hall, this has given her an enhanced knowledge of the medication, which helps when talking to the patients.

Opportunity for a chat – Gill joins as a healthcare assistant

Alongside the nurses are the Healthcare Assistants, Gill Williams and Louise White, who are both new starters in 2021. Gill and Louise provide support in theatre and have recently taken responsibility for twice weekly blood clinics. As people sit to give their samples they often open up about their concerns.

Gill says: “I’ve had a few instances where I’ve chatted to patients, and then they start to talk about what is worrying them. Sometimes the strain can be a bit overwhelming and they want to talk. This is one of the things that got me interested in taking up the opportunity to do a counselling course.

“The course is to give me the confidence to help somebody who is upset or stressed.”