Liverpool leads way as IVF centre gets go ahead

Feb 6 2008 by Aaron Boland, Liverpool Daily Post

THE largest IVF centre in Europe is to be built in Liverpool, after plans for a new specialist unit were given the green light.

Once open, the new Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine will treat more than 2,000 couples each year.

Yesterday , Liverpool City Council planning chiefs passed proposals for the £5m, 1400sq ft extension to the existing centre at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

The work on the hospital’s Crown Street site will transform it into the biggest single provider of IVF treatment in Europe, housing an modern embryology laboratory, sperm bank and egg freezing facility and dedicated recovery services.

An extra 600 treatment cycles will be undertaken a year.

The investment, funded by the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and private practitioners, North West Fertility Ltd, will cement the hospital’s reputation as leaders in reproductive medicine.

Clinical director of the unit, Charles Kingsland, says Liverpool Women’s Hospital will now be recognised as the premier location for IVF technology and treatment.

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.”

As one of the country’s top fertility experts, Mr Kingsland has dedicated his professional life to helping childless couples realise their dreams of parenthood and he has seen the centre’s success grow.

“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.”

Demand for IVF treatment is growing annually as childless couples increasingly seek medical intervention.

In addition to enabling the trust to treat even more women in Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales, the unit can also expect private applications for treatment from all over the world.

Mr Kingsland 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.”

lizawilliams