Patients from Mildura and as far away as Swan Hill, Broken Hill and South Australia now have access to a new IVF and fertility treatment centre at the Mildura Health Private Hospital.
Monash IVF has moved to a new location within the hospital and upgraded its clinic and lab as part of the hospital’s recent operating theatre refurbishment works.
Monash IVF Mildura Clinical Director, Dr Kimberley Sleeman, said regional patients valued having access to local fertility services.
“The patients I see really do appreciate not having to travel to Melbourne, Adelaide or Sydney to access specialist fertility services,” Dr Sleeman said.
“For some having fertility treatment can be challenging so it can help to reduce the stress when they have access to a local full-service clinic. It can mean they don’t have to take extra time off work and having their family and support networks close by can be a source of comfort.
“Now that the borders have reopened and restrictions have eased we’re also starting to see more patients from other nearby regional and remote areas, such as Swan Hill and Broken Hill, returning to Mildura for treatment,” she added.
Mildura Health Private Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Mr Marcus Guthrie, said the Mildura Health and Monash IVF partnership was critical for patients in the region and the new IVF and fertility treatment centre had been constructed with clinical best practice front of mind.
Dr Sleeman, who has been with Monash IVF since 2014, sees dozens of patients each year, including couples who are having trouble conceiving, and increasingly single women and same sex couples who need access to donor sperm to conceive.
“It’s rewarding when you can help a couple or individual realise their dreams of having a baby.”
Monash IVF runs four week-long satellite clinics in Mildura every year, in coordination with Mildura Health Private Hospital nurses and a team of nurses and embryologists from Melbourne to assist Dr Sleeman.
For information and to arrange an appointment free call 1800 731 927
Mildura Health Private Consulting (MHPC) is working hard for the community to build a sustainable long-term plan for the General Practitioner (GP) shortages facing the region by developing and training the region's next generation of GPs. MHPC is an accredited training organisation to host GP Registrars on a program with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Murray City Country Coast GP Training (MCCC). The training program supports Doctors in training to become rural generalist GPs in regional Victoria. Mildura Health Private Hospital (MHPH) Chief Executive, Marcus Guthrie said that the organisation is acutely aware of the challenges the region is facing with the lack of General Practitioners available to meet the needs of an increasingly ageing population and prevalence of chronic disease. This is not just an issue facing Sunraysia, but regionally, Australia-wide. “It is our goal to assist with this local issue and by becoming a training organisation for the next generation of GPs we see this as a pro-active approach to support our region, for the long term. “By understanding the needs of the community, MHPC is now training the future GPs for our region and I am excited to welcome Dr Kane Treble to MHPC in February 2022.” Dr Treble started his career in Biochemistry as a research scientist and shortly after studying further to become a Paramedic and then completed his postgraduate medical degree with Monash University. From this, Dr Treble became an ED trainee, fell in love with General Practice and started the GP training program at Ontario Medical Clinic where he will remain until the end of January 2022. “My family and I first visited the region and fell in love with the place. So, we decided to stay and have settled here for the long term. I always wanted to work in the country. “The opportunity to join MHPC under the supervision of Dr Gleeson and Dr Hartley is advantageous to further my career.” Training as a rural generalist, Dr Treble said that the opportunity to work at MHPC is extremely valuable to develop his career, continue to engage in a variety of work and keep hospital-based skills up to date. “Being able to see a patient in General Practice and understand they need a higher level of care, being able to admit them into Mildura Health Private Hospital, perform that care with ward rounds helps support the continuity of care of the patient. This is very appealing for junior doctors now”, said Dr Treble. Dr Anna Hoy who started her journey as a rural generalist trainee earlier this year and will continue her training with MHPC for 2022, said that she has enjoyed the variety of the role. Under the supervision of Dr Gleeson and Dr Hartley, she has been involved in ward rounds, consultations with patients under supervision and time in the operating theatre working alongside experienced surgical specialists. Mr Guthrie said that Mildura Health witnessed instant success with the inclusion of Dr Jaz Fransch during her final year of training. Dr Fransch exceled in her new environment, patients were overwhelming happy with her general practice, and she is successfully navigating her final exams prior to becoming a Fellowed GP. To support the need of the community both Dr Treble and Dr Hoy will aim to continue work part-time at Mildura Base Public Hospital and teach at Monash University.