This month sees St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside celebrate a major achievement and a vital health milestone with the 10^th anniversary of the opening of the Breast Health Centre.

While it took a couple of years from concept, through to the planning stage and eventually to the opening of the centre in April 2015 - the lifesaving and life-changing care, skill and service that the dedicated team in the Breast Health Centre has provided to tens of thousands of women over the decade, can’t be measured.

The service has grown from having one clinical nurse and two breast physicians and seeing around 1000 patients a year in 2015 - to now having a team of seven nurses and four breast physicians and consulting around 5000 patients each year.

Tracey Schultz is Clinical Nurse Coordinator and a foundation member of the team who came to St Vincent’s in 2015 after St Vincent’s identified a clinical need for a specialised Breast Health Centre.

“When we started, I had to write some policies, procedures and provide specialised training to our team so we could hit the ground running in April of that year,” says Tracey.

“But we’ve come a long way and to think that it’s been 10 years since we opened the doors and to know that we’ve saved and changed the lives of thousands of women through our care is amazing. We’ve had a commitment to continuous improvement so we’re always trying to ensure that we provide the best service and best care possible for our patients.

Dr Wendy Price was one of the first breast physicians who worked in the centre and says she’s enormously proud to see the centre reach such a significant milestone and to know what it represents and the fact that the team has provided the best care possible to tens of thousands of women since 2015.

“It takes dedication, passion, commitment and a genuine caring team which has a real patient-focus to create a centre like this and we all have been focussed on ensuring that in everything we do, that we have our patient’s interests at heart,” says Dr Price.

“We work collaboratively as a team to provide a comprehensive breast health care and screening service to the community. Our approach is driven by clinical best practice and we aim to provide excellence in care in everything that we do.

“For example, we specialise in offering Contrast Enhanced Mammography (CEM) which is a vital and efficient breast imaging technique which makes it easier to identify any cancer earlier.

“In many senses, there’s a unique vulnerability about the women who come into our care and we know that for many of them it’s an anxious and stressful time while we conduct the investigations and diagnosis. So, we do everything we can in the most timely and diligent way to minimise that stress.”

Gillian Keppel was another of the foundation team, who worked in the Breast Health Centre when “it was just a shell” and was involved in a lot of the original set-up and fit-out of everything from equipment to furnishings and a system for GP referrals.

“We found it helpful to look around at the blueprint of one or two other specialised centres, although there weren’t many around so we had to work a lot of important aspects out for ourselves including patient flow in the centre as we worked on one of our primary objectives of having a one-stop shop as patients would be stepped through the different stages of diagnostics and analysis,” says Gillian.

“It was obvious from the feedback that we got from patients from the start that they genuinely appreciated having the convenience of all aspects of their screening and testing in one place that meant they didn’t have to travel to different hospitals or centres. It’s such a stressful time for anyone and little things like that can make a big difference.”

“Dr Price and the whole Breast Health Centre were fantastic – very, very thorough and great care and sensitivity and they always made me feel very safe and secure in every aspect of their approach. They recommended that I have surgery which I did a few weeks later and I had the best care in St Vincent’s day surgery.

“Everyone in the Breast Health Centre was prepared to look outside the box and consider all issues in my case and the fact there was this seamless integration between all of the health professionals working in the centre meant that I received the very best of care and it took a lot of the stress and hassle out of it.

“The nature of the various tests and investigations meant that I spent a bit of time around the centre and I had time to observe everyone who was working there and the way they went about their jobs and the way they interacted with all of the patients (and not just me).

“I could see there was a very high level of professionalism, from a dedicated and highly skilled team and that they had compassion and empathy for each and every patient who was there.

“A few months later, I became aware that there was a clinical nurse position available in the centre and I applied for it as I knew that I could bring all of my clinical skills to the job as well as lived experience and a genuine ability to put myself in the shoes of the patient on the other side of the desk.

“It’s my dream job because I know our team here makes a difference to the lives of thousands of women every year and I get to use all of my skills in the work that I do.”