Meet the team from Beaches Private
I have been lucky enough to cross paths with Dr Georgina Davis, Dr Victoria Bennett and their lovely practice manager Jess over the recent years. I’ve had many of their patients through my doors for Physiotherapy and their patients are always raving about the empathy, care and compassion they feel when they’re being looked after by the team from Beaches Private.
Georgina and Victoria provide private obstetric care at Northern Beaches Hospital and aim to support women to achieve the healthiest pregnancy and safest birth of their baby. I sat down with them to catch up and ask them a few questions so you can all get to know them a little better too.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you both met and how the idea to team up and form Beaches Private came about?
We met while working at Northern Beaches Hospital. Over the years, in the final stages of both our specialist training we served as the Senior Registrar, a position of leadership within the department.
We both wanted to start a private practice, and the team up was very natural. We are both at the same stage in life and in our careers and wanted to create a practice that was inclusive, empathetic and accessible for families on the Northern Beaches. We also wanted to make a commitment to our own families that we would have the opportunity to be present, knowing that we had a trusted colleague to back us up at work if needed.
Beaches Private is our seedling practice which we hope to grow over the coming years. We value the role and input of our local GP Specialists, allied health (Physio – that’s you, Claire!) and midwifery colleagues. We are lucky to work exclusively at Northern Beaches Hospital and our relationship and camaraderie with our work colleagues is one of our strong attributes.
This might be a silly question as obviously everyday is different… but I’d love you to give us some insight into the life of an obstetrician. What does a week in the life of an obstetrician look like?
Every week is different and that is what makes it exciting! Babies arrive when they want to so even the best laid plans get cast aside. Our week is generally divided into seeing our lovely Obstetric and Gynae patients in our beautiful consulting rooms in Northern Beaches Hospital, performing elective gynaecological operations and procedures and of course, waiting to welcome new babies to our lovely families.
We both hold busy public roles at Northern Beaches Hospital (and Hornsby for Victoria) where we have outpatient clinics and work on the Birthing Suites and also provide invaluable teaching and supervision to Training Specialists.
At the end of each day we both head home to our equally busy households. We both have two primary school aged boys who keep us on our toes with extracurricular activities, sports and all the rest!
What does it mean when you say you have formed the Northern Beaches first ‘Group Practice?’
Forming a Group Practice means that we both work exclusively together. We absolutely love welcoming new families to our practice for their pregnancy care. Generally, you book your care with your primary Obstetrician of choice and the alternate Obstetrician is always available if yours is not – this provides unprecedented obstetric continuity of care throughout your pregnancy and birth. We exclusively cover each other’s leave, meticulously planning out our school holidays and if we need a break on the weekend, we sign off to each other. You get the option to meet the alternate Obstetrician in the third trimester so that there is always a familiar, friendly face that will attend to you in hospital.
This model also allows for us to ensure that we both have work life balance, are able to focus on our own health and avoid burn out. Having the reassurance that a trusted colleague is your back up if you want to attend that soccer grand final or school presentation day means that we can be present for our families. Ensuring work life balance means that there is always a well rested and safe obstetrician attending you when needed.
What are the benefits of having a private obstetrician? Any advice for those that are newly pregnant and trying to work out what model of care might work best for them?
Finding out you are newly pregnant can be such an exciting and anxious time. There are multiple models of care available to women on the Northern Beaches and all of the information can be dizzying.
The first thing to consider is whether you want Private care or Public care and this is more often than not an Insurance and financial consideration. Public care through the hospital is usually midwife led unless you have medical or pregnancy considerations where as Private care can be with a named Obstetrician or a Privately Practicing Midwife in the community for those planning a homebirth.
The benefits of having Obstetric Care is that not only is your pregnancy overseen by a specialist Obstetrician but if you need medical intervention in your labour or birth, it will be the same friendly face that knows you, your story and wishes, who will help birth your baby. We support all birth choices from physiological birth to planned, elective birth and are here to guide you with our knowledge, expertise and experience.
When exploring models of care, don’t be afraid to reach out to the hospital for more information, or call Obstetricians’ offices to ask directly about options.
You are both mums yourself. How has this shaped the way you approach your work?
Immeasurably. It is very humbling to practice in a field of Medicine where you have also been a “patient” and understand many of the experiences that your patients are going through. We have both navigated our own complex pregnancies, births and postpartum stories and this brings a sense of empathy and understanding to how we practice. This has shaped the type of Obstetricians we want to be, knowing how important it is to find one you trust. We both are approachable, friendly and inclusive and it wont be long before you’ll appreciate our dry sense of humour.
Ok, non work related question! Any favourite local coffee shops or spots for a drink on the Northern Beaches?
Georgie: I don’t want to out myself as a complete anomaly but I don’t drink coffee! I spend a lot of my spare time trying to get a swim in down at Manly – swimming the Manly Shelly return route with friends and colleagues all year round. I absolutely love treating myself to something from Norma’s on the Corso when ravenous.
Vic: I like to get my morning coffee fix from Barrell One in Cromer, they also sell cookie’s from Butter Boy which are a guilty pleasure for me and and my sons. With two young sons opportunities for nights out are few and far between, but you might find me at family friendly venues like Harbord Diggers or The Mona enjoying a drink and a bite to eat.
Thank you so much for your time!
To find out more or to get in contact with the lovely team from Beaches Private you can reach out to them on:
P: (02) 8315 8299
W: www.beachesprivate.com.au
