Who is the best one for …

Our practitioners are some of the most experienced in their field. They are also highly collaborative sharing learnings, experiences, research and discussing cases and treatment approaches regularly. It is hard to say this one is better at this or that or has more experience as they really are all such excellent practitioners. What we would say though is that the best practitioner is the one you click with. While they are all fantastic at what they do and all very lovely, they are also very different people with different approaches and styles of communication.

Developing a good relationship with someone who communicates with you in a way you can relate to and with whom you feel you can create a trusting relationship is the key! We encourage you to try someone else if you don’t feel a sense of connection or rapport with the first practitioner you see – and there will be no hard feelings whatsoever! Simply chat with one of our reception staff if you’d like to try a different practitioner (in any modality actually) – with so many excellent practitioners to choose from you will find someone who is the best one for you.

I don’t really know who I need to see …

This is a common one, you know you need some support but where to start? We generally recommend seeing a naturopath first. This will ensure that an extensive list of lifestyle changes and self-help measures are covered as well as a deeper exploration of the issues you are struggling with. From there, your naturopath will guide you as to what else might be needed to help you achieve your goal – Chinese medicine, more blood tests or other more extensive testing.

Is there a waiting list? How soon can I get an appointment?

We have almost 20 practitioners across various modalities, enabling us to meet your needs as quickly as possible. However, we are a busy clinic and encourage you to call and make an appointment as soon as possible. We will usually be able to accommodate you with an appointment within 2 weeks of calling. Please note that after-hours appointments are in high demand and may incur a longer waiting period for an appointment.

If you require a specific time, for example, outside of normal working hours, we recommend that you keep your appointments booked well ahead to ensure your most convenient time is always available. Speak with our receptionists when you call to make your appointment.

Who do you treat?

We treat a range of conditions affecting both men and women. In preparing you for a healthy pregnancy we need to look at all aspects of your and, wherever possible, your partner’s health. This may include addressing factors affecting your general health as well as specifically treating any known or undiagnosed fertility issues. Of course, you don’t have to be trying to conceive or pregnant to benefit from the expertise of any of our highly experienced practitioners. Improving our patient’s general health is the cornerstone of our practice. Although we place a particular emphasis on fertility, many general health and subclinical factors affect fertility so our practitioners need to be expert general medicine professionals as well.

And we love to build lasting relationships so we can continue to look after you and your family as you grow, change, encounter challenges and generally keep living the best possible life you can.

Here is a fairly comprehensive (though not exhaustive) list of the types of conditions we commonly treat:

  • Digestive problems (e.g. constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Indigestion, Bloating, Food intolerances etc.)
  • Respiratory problems (e.g. recurrent colds/flu/infections, allergic rhinitis/hayfever, sinus problems etc.)
  • Weight management
  • Fitness and cardiovascular health (e.g. blood pressure problems, metabolic syndrome etc.)
  • Menstrual changes (including perimenopause and menopause)
  • Period pain and PMS
  • Irregular cycles
  • Fertility problems (including PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, hormonal imbalances, low sperm count and/or poor sperm quality e.g. motility or morphology issues)
  • Pregnancy related conditions (miscarriage prevention, morning sickness, pelvic instability, birth planning, etc.)
  • Musculoskeletal pain or injuries
  • Diabetes including gestational diabetes and blood sugar regulation
  • High cholesterol
  • Osteoporosis and osteopaenia
  • Children’s health care (recurrent infections, sleeping problems, glue ear, eczema, food intolerances etc.)
  • Immune problems (e.g. glandular fever, chronic fatigue syndrome etc.)
  • Auto Immune conditions (Hashimoto’s and other thyroid conditions, ANA’s, etc.)

Who should I see?

You do not need a referral to see a practitioner at FGHG. However, many people receive a word of mouth referral from a friend, their doctor, specialist or midwife. If you don’t have a specific referral to one of our practitioners or to a particular modality we will usually recommend patients start with one of our naturopaths. Our naturopaths will go through your whole health history, assessing your needs in depth and detail. They will make recommendations about lifestyle practices you can implement yourself, at home, to improve your situation and will also make recommendations for your for further testing and treatment, including who else to include in your support team. For patients who are trying to conceive or are pregnant, this will often include a referral to one of our TCM team.

We are often asked “who is the best”. However, we are a highly collaborative practice and actively share information both among practitioners and between modalities to ensure all of our practitioners are the best they can be. All of our practitioners are highly trained and very experienced in their field and we hold regular meetings to share information, research, case studies and explore difficult situations. It is amazing having all these inspired, informed and passionate people working closely together, committed to motivating and educating ourselves, each other and our patients with the most current and well researched information we can get our hands on! We are passionate about all of our patients receiving the best care and working collaboratively both within our own clinic and with your other health care providers. This makes for the safest and best treatment outcomes for you! It also makes this a truly great place to work. You’ll feel it when you walk in the door!

To make your own choice, you can view all of our practitioner profiles here.

How often do I need to come for treatment?

Different services and different health conditions require a different frequency of visits. We do not run general programs, but tailor a health plan to suit your specific needs. Also, as you improve, the frequency of your visits may change. For example, you may see your massage therapist once a week for the first month or so to overcome an acute condition. Then you may reduce the frequency of visits to maintain your newly acquired health. In this case we generally recommend coming before you need it. As an ancient Chinese proverb says: “Seeing your doctor once you are sick, is like starting to dig a well when you are already thirsty.”

Our receptionist should be able to give you a rough guide to how often you will need to attend when you call to make your first appointment. Your practitioner will agree on a plan with you at your consultation.

What happens if I need to cancel my appointment?

All consultations are available by appointment only. Appointments are confirmed within 48 hours of the scheduled time.

We are a very busy practice and run waiting lists for most practitioners for patients awaiting appointments. Last minute cancellations mean a loss of income for practitioners and missed opportunities for other patients to take advantage of this time. For this reason, in fairness to our practitioners and patients, Fertile Ground Health Group enforces a 24 hour cancellation policy. Where appointments are cancelled, missed or changed without 24 hours’ notice, a 50% cancellation fee will be applied.

Confirmation of an appointment is acknowledgement of this cancellation policy. A 24 hour period allows us to rebook this time for another patient.

NB: we recognise there are some special circumstances requiring flexibility of our cancellation policy. Going into labour or a cancelled embryo transfer are not charged a cancellation fee. Unfortunately we cannot account for events that happen at your end that are out of your control. If your circumstances change at the last minute, please be respectful of our need to charge a cancellation fee.

What are your opening hours?

Reception is available 9am till 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm on Saturday. All practitioner services are available with extended hours, 8am to 7pm, and are by appointment only.

What is your success rate?

We are often asked by patients what are the odds are of their falling pregnant, or, what our success rate is. It is a fair question but not a straight forward one to answer. Unlike a horse race, the fertility journey for most people is not a straight run to the finish line. But very much like a horse race, those who do well are usually the ones who have put in the hard yards: done the training, eaten well, taken care of themselves, made adjustments along the way, done as their team of experts has advised and consequently showed good endurance.

Sadly, we know not everyone who comes to our clinic is willing to do this work. There are numerous reasons: either it doesn’t resonate with them, they don’t ‘believe’ in it, they don’t want to make changes such as giving up alcohol, coffee or changing their diet and lifestyle, they don’t have time, or they’ve already tried so many things … when it comes to excuses, the list can be endless.

What we do find is that the people who allow us to come on the journey with them, providing support, advice, encouragement and guidance on making changes and who really implement the recommendations and take their supplements and yukky tasting herbs, these are the people who most often find success.

The most important thing we know is: “There is nothing good health is not good for.” Nothing. The healthier you are mind and body, the more likely you are to be successful in any endeavour. And that does not mean if you have a health condition of some kind that you won’t be successful. It is simply about optimising, being your best you, making the most of what you’ve got. And amazingly, it is not that hard, you’ll feel better, happier, more resilient – no matter what disappointments or challenges might come your way.

So while our success rate might not be 100%, there are no real losers here – except the ones who give up too soon, or just never return after one or two visits. All crisis leads to transformation. Let us help you through yours and see what waits on the other side.

We are currently working on developing an accurate measure of our success rates to implement in 2015 which we hope will shed some light on the actual statistics of our practice.

Is the clinic just for women? Do you also treat men?

Many people believe that because we treat fertility we must only treat women. However, almost half of all fertility issues have a male factor as at least part of the cause! At Fertile Ground Health Group we believe healthy people make healthy babies, and it takes good quality eggs and sperm to make a healthy baby. We are passionate about treating both men and women!

As part of your pre-conception care, we encourage both partners to embark on a journey toward better health – regardless of whether there are fertility problems or not – and regardless of whose fertility issue it is. Of course, in helping people improve their health for fertility we need to sort out a lot of other health problems in the process. Both men and women might see one of our practitioners for a sore back, sinus, headaches, digestive problems, recurrent illness, skin issues or other health issues on their way to improving their fertility and preparing to conceive.

Consequently we are confident in treating a range of health issues in both men and women regardless of what stage of the life cycle they might be up to.