BOURN HALL ANNOUNCES ITS NEW 'BABY'
Satellite IVF clinic in Colchester offers high quality local treatment
Bourn Hall Clinic is pleased to announce its latest offspring - a new IVF clinic based in Colchester, Essex. Bourn Hall has acquired the Isis Fertility Centre, which will provide a range of high quality fertility services offering couples in Essex and South Suffolk an extra choice of location for their treatment.
Dorian Ransome, Head of Patient Management at Bourn Hall, Cambridge, explains that patients will benefit from the wealth of expertise that has been developed at the clinic since it was founded by IVF pioneers Steptoe and Edwards.
"Bourn Hall has always been at the forefront of IVF treatment and patients here are assured of world class expertise. By establishing a clinic in Colchester we can deliver this quality of treatment nearer to home for couples locally, and also develop closer relationships with other care-givers in the community such as the local GPs, patient support groups and referring hospitals. Fertility treatment is an emotional journey and we see this as a way of smoothing the pathway and improving the experience for patients."
The Colchester clinic will provide a full fertility service including all treatments up to and including embryo-transfer, and is the first fully owned satellite clinic to be established by Bourn Hall. It will treat both private and NHS funded patients.
The new clinic will embrace the clinical team from the former Isis Fertility Centre. Sarah Pallett, appointed as Clinic Manager for Bourn Hall at Colchester, is enthusiastic about the developments, "Becoming part of Bourn Hall is an excellent development opportunity for us as individuals. I am excited by the prospect of working closely with some of the most experienced fertility experts in the world, sharing knowledge and best practice."
Although fertility does decline with age, within the general population 70 percent of couples will conceive naturally within 18 months of trying for a baby and 90 percent after two years.
The chance of natural conception can be improved through greater awareness of the woman's monthly cycle and by making lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, improving diet and losing weight. Couples that have already taken these measures and not conceived, or have a diagnosed cause of infertility, should see their GP to discuss the next steps.
Couples with fertility issues are referred by their GP to a gynaecological unit at an NHS hospital, where checks such as hormone tests will be undertaken to try and identify the cause of infertility before referral, as appropriate, to a specialist IVF clinic.
The establishment of the Colchester satellite centre means that if patients eligible for NHS funding opt to have their IVF treatment with Bourn Hall they can be offered a choice of location for their treatment. For many this may make their treatment pathway more convenient and less stressful.
Dorian Ransome of Bourn Hall Clinic comments,
"It was always the dream of Steptoe and Edwards when they established Bourn Hall as the world's first IVF clinic, that treatment would be available to all who needed it. We believe that by developing this satellite centre we will be supporting patients by making their treatment more accessible."
