IVF mum is perfect for new job at clinic
A new mum who works at the fertility clinic that helped her have her IVF baby says she is delighted the new role she was given on her return from maternity leave allows her to use her own experience of her journey to motherhood for the benefit of other patients.
Abbie Walker, 39, has been appointed to as patient experience manager at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) having previously been their service development manager at the time when she and her partner Chris underwent their fertility treatment.
“Our beautiful baby girl is nearly two now and having her in our lives is a dream come true,” said Abbie.
“But when we first learned our chances of conceiving naturally were less than five per cent we were devastated because I'd worked in the fertility industry for over a decade and knew the hardship we were about to face.”
Baby Darcie was conceived on Abbie’s second round of IVF.
Abbie said: “Every member of the team at BCRM was so kind and supportive throughout and treated us with privacy and respect during both our cycles. I was never in any doubt that we were in the best hands for our treatment.”
Kim Donaldson, general manager of BCRM, said: “Since Abbie’s return from maternity leave, an important aspect of her new role is to act as the ‘patient voice’ and we knew her own experience would be a perfect qualification for this.
“Her well-informed input is needed so we can achieve consistent improvements in our service, and thanks to some of Abbie’s early contributions we’ve already been able to put beneficial changes in place.
“For example, we’ve introduced a new sound system so music can be played in any waiting area in the clinic. Patient feedback indicates that they find background music helps them relax, and they also feel it improves privacy for personal conversations.
“Abbie also identified an opportunity where we could reduce the waiting time for letting patients know about certain test results, and that has now been implemented too.”
Abbie reports to BCRM’s senior management at regular meetings where her attendance also enables her to continue identifying new ways of ensuring patients are involved in informing the direction of changes at the clinic. Patient feedback comes to her via a dedicated email address and telephone conversations.
BCRM www.fertilitybristol.com has one of the best success rates with IVF and other fertility treatments in the UK and is involved in innovative research covering a range of fertility issues. The clinic is based at Aztec West, near the intersection of the M4 and M5 motorways, giving easy access for patients throughout the South West and Wales as well as further afield.
