Important Information for patients

According to the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG, 29 March 2020).  At this time, pregnant women do not appear to be more severely unwell if they develop COVID-19 infection than the general population, however pregnant women should be considered a vulnerable or at-risk group. It is expected that the large majority of pregnant women will experience only mild or moderate cold/flu like symptoms. However, detailed information regarding the impact of COVID-19 infection on pregnant women and their babies is limited by the recency of the disease emergence.

To view the RANZCOG guidelines for pregnant women, please visit www.ranzcog.edu.au/statements-guidelines/covid-19-statement for more detailed information and or speak with your treating clinician about your personal circumstances.

Guidance from the Fertility Society of Australia can also be found here: www.fertilitysociety.com.au/home/fsa-statement-covid-19/

All fertility treatment can recommence as of 28 April 2020.

It is okay if you wish to cancel your cycle and prefer to wait. We can work with you and your specialist to manage your future treatments.

Yes, you are able to continue your cycle and proceed with the transfer.

Please discuss with a First Step Fertility specialist or a fertility nurse coordinator your treatment options.

If you get sick mid-cycle and it is suspected that it is due to COVID-19, firstly, you will need to notify your treating clinician and GP. To ensure your health and the health of staff, we may need to cancel your cycle until after you have been in self-isolation and/or after you have been tested.

We would ask that you seek medical advice regarding your personal circumstances and consult with your treating specialist so we can manage your care accordingly.

Your embryos are cultured and incubated in our laboratory under strict conditions. Additionally, your embryos are cultured in your own individual dish. Our laboratories have specialised air filters and are restricted to only laboratory staff. All staff at First Step Fertility are screened daily.

As mentioned above, your embryos are incubated in their own individual dish in a special media.  If embryos are frozen during this time, as per usual procedure, all surfaces and equipment are wiped down between patients before the next freezing event.

Your embryos are safely stored in individual straws in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees

Given all people returning from overseas to Australia are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, your treatment cycle will need to be delayed until a later date as we cannot manage your cycle without having any direct contact with you.

If you reside in NSW and are concerned how this could impact your fertility treatment, First Step Fertility is pleased to advise, the Queensland Government have confirmed that cross-border travel for medical treatment purposes at our Robina Clinic is allowed.

In an effort to help minimise the travel required for you, First Step Fertility can now:

• Provide phone and or video consultations where practical;
• Courier medications to you if required;
• Provide medication training via video conferencing; and
• Arrange for your scans to occur locally, where possible.

As a result of the above changes, you will now only be required to attend the Robina clinic for your procedure. For this, we will provide you with a letter from your fertility specialist to state you are travelling for medical purposes. We request that you please contact our Patient Services Team on 1300 859 116 to obtain a copy of this letter before attending your appointment

First Step Fertility is continuing to monitor the Department of Health alerts and provide any important updates to patients as soon as they are available. For additional information on COVID-19 please visit www.health.gov.au

For more information on essential travel for medical appointments into Queensland, click here.

As is the case for all health services, First Step Fertility is implementing a range of safety precautions to minimise this risk, these include:

• Stay away from work policy: We are advising anyone who falls into the following categories, to not attend work and seek medical advice:
  • Active flu-like symptoms
  • Recent direct contact with proven COVID-19 case in the past 14 days
  • Recently returned from overseas travel within the past 14 days (since 15 March these people must self-isolate for 14 days.)
• Daily staff health screening: To help us protect everyone in our clinics, day procedure centres and call centres, we are implementing a daily health check screen for all staff, patients and visitors. We are asking staff to record their temperature and status of their travel or whether they have been in close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Patient health check on arrival: We will also be asking patients some health check questions and taking patient temperatures with an infrared temperature device.
• High Infection control protocols: We are undertaking thorough daily cleaning of all high-touch areas with high-grade disinfectant, including reception surfaces, door handles, and treatment areas.
• Hand sanitisation: All staff, patients and visitors to our clinics are required to use hand sanitiser upon entering the clinic. All staff are required to use it before and following contact with patients.
• Social distancing in our clinics: We have implemented social distancing measures in our waiting rooms and staff working areas.

Scott Morrison announced on 21st April 2020, that the Federal Government will be easing restrictions on some elective surgery effective Tuesday 28 April, including IVF services. First Step Fertility will be recommencing all fertility services in line with this directive.

In the event of the hospital associated with your clinic closes, our sister clinic has its own off-site procedure centres/day hospital in the following locations:

• In Queensland, two procedure centres (Sunnybank and Gold Coast) where we can provide ongoing care and services for egg pickups.
• In New South Wales, our Gateway Day Hospital in the CBD can provide ongoing services for egg pickups.

If you must withdraw from fertility treatment because of an actual or suspected COVID-19 exposure before the egg collection or transfer, First Step Fertility will not charge you any out-of-pocket fees. If you have collected medication, please store this as per directed and this can be used for a future cycle when it is safe for you to proceed with treatment.

Whether you are a new or continuing patient there are a number of matters we can assist you with over the phone or online including (and not limited to):

• New patient consultations: discussing current medical situations, taking medical history and fertility history, discussing potential treatment options etc.
• Counselling sessions: First Step Fertility affiliated counsellors are able to offer remote supportive counselling services.  A variety of appointment days and times are available including after hours (subject to individual counsellor availability)
• Counselling sessions: facilitate counselling to address any concerns relating to treatment
• Medication education: advice, education, demonstrations and coaching
• Nurse guidance: Pre-treatment advice, individualised advice and education of treatment prescribed by the fertility specialist, advice and support during the treatment and post-treatment phase including phone call, text message and email
• Existing patient cycle review with an embryologist

Our sister clinic, City Fertility, has a comprehensive education e-book full of important information fertility treatment including a number of remote learning support videos which we can share with you to watch from your home.  These videos include information on understanding the menstrual cycle, the fertility window, the IVF process including starting treatment, giving injections and egg retrieval, embryology and embryo transfer. You can ask our friendly staff to send you the link to these resources for your perusal.

Alternatively, you can also check under the Resources section on our website, or visit our Frequently Asked Questions web page.