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News - Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cheltenham Gloucestershire UK |
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| Dilke Memorial Hospital |
| New Satellite Fertility Unit to help hundreds of couples in Gloucestershire |
| Date : - 15/07/2009 |
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Hundreds of couples struggling to conceive are to benefit from the opening of a new fertility centre in Gloucestershire.
Currently, couples can make as many as ten journeys to either Bristol or Oxford for scans, tests and consultations before undergoing fertility treatment, such as IVF.
Now they can receive the majority of these at the Cotswold Fertility Unit (CFU), a Cheltenham-based clinic run by staff from the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Once they have undergone initial tests and have been referred to the centre, couples will receive all subsequent tests, scans and consultations in Gloucestershire. They will only have to travel out of the county to the main fertility unit (Bristol and Oxford) for procedures such as egg collection and embryo transfer.
Mrs Kalpana Reddy, Consultant Gynaecologist at Cheltenham General Hospital, will be running the service, which is available to both NHS and private patients.
She said: “This is great news for all the couples I see each week who face several long journeys to Bristol or Oxford for on-going care and treatment.
“Our centre will provide the confidential, professional and welcoming service that I know is important to couples who are trying to conceive.”
All couples considered eligible for treatment in Gloucestershire are currently offered one free cycle of IVF paid for by the NHS. The centre, which is based at Lansdown Lodge, on Lansdown Road, will also cater for private patients.
Alison McShane, 35, and husband Mark, from Cheltenham, spent two years trying to conceive before finally becoming pregnant first with Ben, following a course of medication, and then to twins Maisie and Evie, four years later, following a course of IVF at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine.
Alison said: “I was really confident in the service I received from Bristol but we spent a lot of time travelling up and down the motorway and arranging childcare for our son. In 10 days we went to Bristol five times. Having a fertility unit in Gloucestershire will certainly make IVF treatment less stressful and take away the hassle of travelling.
“We were lucky to conceive after our first cycle of IVF, but I can understand that for some couples the constant travelling would add to what can be a very difficult time.”
The CFU has two consultation rooms and a waiting area and will initially be holding clinics for three mornings per week. It is anticipated that around 350 couples will benefit from the service each year.
If you would like to find out more about the CFU please speak to your GP in the first instance or contact Mrs Reddy’s secretary on 08454 223 128 or visit www.cotswoldfertilityunit.co.uk
For more information please call Alison Short, Communications Specialist, on 08454 223 120 or email alison.short@glos.nhs.uk
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| Reference : - www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/ |
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