Cambridge IVF has open evenings at its headquarters in Kefford House, Maris Lane, Trumpington, where couples can discuss options.
The clinic, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), will host the next two open evenings between 5pm and 5.45pm and 6.30pm and 7.15pm on 20 August.
It has been developing ever increasing numbers of effective treatments for couples, aiming to cover development costs rather than make big profits.
The work has been quietly on-going ever since Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) first announced in September 2017 that it was withdrawing funding for IVF treatment.
On Tuesday (Aug 6) the CCG – faced with increasingly difficult decisions on how to make limited resources go around - announced it will not be withdrawing that decision.
The open evenings will be an opportunity to learn about options including PURE IVF, which costs £2,500 and is an all-inclusive fixed price treatment, for which most private clinics charge in excess of £5,000.
It is overseen by experienced consultants and delivered by fertility nurse specialists and includes IVF, drugs, sedation, scans, the compulsory Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) licence fee and counselling.
There are also options including Multi-cycle IVF, which is suitable for women under 45 who meet certain criteria. It also costs a fraction of private clinics and other advanced treatments, including the routing freezing of embryos to get better results, are coming on stream on an increasingly regular basis.
Cambridge IVF has a higher than national average success rate of live births per frozen embryo transfer – 34% for women under 40-years-old - and close links with the Trust’s Rosie Maternity and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals means joined-up care. All fees it generates go back into the NHS.
It is emphasised that patients from the East Midlands clinical commissioning area are unaffected by the announcement, and will still be able to access NHS assisted conception services at Cambridge IVF.
Service lead and consultant embryologist at Cambridge IVF, Stephen Harbottle (pictured), said: “While we fully understand the very difficult financial position the CCG is in, we know the decision will be met with worry by our patients in the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire area.
“Our assurance to them is that Cambridge IVF, as the assisted conception service provided by Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, will continue to provide coordinated fertility treatment and a well-established and recognised patient pathway.
“Infertility affects one in six people, can have wide societal and health impacts and is categorised as a disease by the World Health Organisation. Anyone who is concerned or has questions should not hesitate to contact us or drop into our Tuesday evening information session. More are planned for the autumn.”
To reserve a place at the information evening, telephone 01223 349010. For more information about Cambridge IVF visit https://www.cambridge-ivf.org.uk/
About Cambridge IVF:
Cambridge IVF is part of the Rosie Hospital and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is staffed by NHS employees and offers care pathways for both NHS and self-funded patients. It is able to offer patients a single, simplified care pathway from pre-conception through to post-natal care in a single NHS team.
Self-funding is different to paying for care privately. Although patients pay a fee for their treatment, fees are kept to a minimum and returned directly into the local NHS economy to support essential treatments and services.
About Cambridge University Hospitals
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) is one of the largest and best known hospitals in the country, delivering high-quality patient care through Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals. CUH is a leading national centre for specialist treatment for rare or complex conditions and a university teaching hospital with a worldwide reputation.
CUH is a key partner in Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP), one of only six academic health science centres in the UK, and is at the heart of the development of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC), which brings together on one site world-class biomedical research, patient care and education. As part of the Campus development, Papworth Hospital is creating a bespoke, purpose-built hospital, and AstraZeneca is building a new global R&D centre and corporate headquarters. The Campus is one of the government’s 11 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive biomedical research centres.