LIVERPOOL CELEBRATES IVF CAPITAL STATUS
04/07/2008 00:00:00
Liverpool is set to become home to the largest IVF centre in Europe after plans for a new specialist unit were given the green light.
Once open, The Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine will treat more than 2000 couples a year who have problems conceiving.
The new, 1400 sq ft, two-storey extension, will transform Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust into the biggest single provider of NHS and private IVF treatment in Europe.
The £5m investment, funded jointly by the Liverpool Women’s and private practitioners, North West Fertility Ltd, will further cement the hospital’s reputation as leaders in reproductive medicine.
The extension on Liverpool Women’s Crown Street site will house a state-of-the-art embryology laboratory, sperm bank and egg freezing facility and dedicated recovery services.
Demand for IVF treatment is growing annually as childless couples increasingly seek medical intervention to help them start a family. Currently around 6,000 babies are born in the UK to previously infertile couples as a result of IVF.
In addition to enabling the trust to treat even more women Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales, the unit can also expect private applications for treatment from all over the world.
Clinical director of the unit, Charles Kingsland, said Liverpool Women’s would now be recognised as being at the very forefront of IVF technology and treatment.
One of the country’s top fertility experts, the announcement has delighted Mr Kingsland, who has dedicated his professional life to helping childless couples realise their dreams of parenthood.
He said: “This is fantastic news. The unit is so important to thousands of couples who want nothing more than to start a family.
“It is difficult to express how much this life changing facility will positively impact on infertile couples.
“This new extension will propel Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust to the forefront of reproductive medicine in Europe.
“When we set up our first facility 18 years ago, our intention was to provide NHS funded treatment to people from all walks of life and now we have achieved that, this development allows us to take that ethos even further.”
Mr Kingsland said the unit was made possible because of an alliance between Liverpool Women’s and North West Fertility Ltd. He said: “This development wouldn’t have happened without collaboration between the private and public sectors.
“Not only will the unit provide the highest quality environment possible for couples receiving treatment, the unit has all the advantages of being situated in a leading NHS teaching hospital specialising in women’s health.
Building commenced on 9 June 2008 and it is expected that the facility will be fully completed by Autumn 2009.
« view all news