Fertility clinic to open in Stoke-on-Trent to support couples trying for a baby

Stoke-on-Trent couples facing a 60-mile round trip to access IVF treatment will no longer have to make the journey after a fertility clinic opened in the city.

Nurture Fertility was established in 1991 and is one of the oldest IVF units in the country, with its main clinic housed in Nottingham. They also have a satellite clinic in Burton which is where the majority of Stoke patients are currently seen.

And after more than two years’ planning, a satellite clinic opened at the Etruria Office Village on August 3.

Medical Director at Nurture, Dr Nick Raine-Fenning said: “We have created a satellite clinic which is  purpose-built.

“Consultations from all our clinics are currently being carried out remotely. These are for anyone at any stage of their journey. We can see them and advise on all aspects, giving advice on, for example,  natural conception, investigations and baseline bloods.

“We will be doing a lot of scanning which is a really key part of the process, to check for blocked and/or swollen Fallopian tubes, polyps or fibroids.

“ All scans and blood work can be carried out in Stoke with patients just attending Nottingham for the insemination procedure or their egg collection and embryo transfer if having IVF.

 "A two-metre social distancing rule is enforced in all of Nurture’s clinics and the footfall into the building will also be limited by asking patients to  stay in their cars until they are called in, in line with government regulations."

Nurture offers a range of different treatment types including ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination, where the sperm is placed in the uterus, and IVF.

The amount of sperm, eggs and embryos the clinic is able to store is unlimited however it is all kept in Nottingham in a high tech freezing system which is monitored 24/7 all year round.

Dr Raine-Fenning said: “I am very surprised nobody has done it in Stoke-on-Trent before. It’s one of the only big remaining cities without an IVF unit. It did have one in the Nuffield Hospital but that closed down many years ago.

“Patients from Stoke-on-Trent get a brilliant service from the NHS fertility clinic but then they have to travel further afield for their actual treatment. Our mission is to meet them half way,  provide them with as much as we can locally and therefore keep the number of longer trips to an absolute minimum.

“We’ve been looking at Stoke-on-Trent for the best part of two years, and it might seem like a long time to make your mind up of where you are going to set up, but you have to get it right.

“It will hopefully be much easier for patients as 90 per cent of their appointments will be in the city. It also means they can access a clinic which has a long track record of delivering some of the highest success rates in the UK.”

Half of Nurture’s patients are funded by the NHS whilst the other half are self-funded as they do not meet the requirements for NHS funding. 

There are a number of reasons why a couple may not be eligible for NHS funding, the most common being if either partner already  has a child. There is no funding for single women and very limited funding for same sex couples.

Dr Raine-Fenning added: “In Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent the criteria predominantly are that the woman has to be aged under 39 at the time of their treatment.

"Other things that affect funding, but are correctable, include certain lifestyle measures. The female partner’s BMI must be under 30  because the treatment is more effective and it is safer for them when they do become pregnant. Neither partner can smoke or vape nicotine.”

For couples accessing treatment at the Stoke-on-Trent clinic, if a one off sperm test for the male partner and / or test of tubal patency for the woman are recommended then these would currently be undertaken in Burton or Nottingham. These tests can be done at any stage of treatment and are dependent on which pathway the patient takes.

Nurture has also reduced the cost of several treatments to make them more accessible and more affordable for patients who are not funded by the NHS. 

A full assessment which includes a baseline scan, blood tests, tests of tubal patency (HyCoSy) for the woman  and a sperm test for the man costs £690. Seminal fluid analysis on its own costs £190 while a HyCoSy is currently £250

Nurture has also introduced an ‘Essential IVF’ package which includes everything needed, from the scans to the treatment itself, costing between £4,500 and £5,500. 

Dr Raine-Fenning said: “There’s a really important financial option that patients need to know about called ‘Access Fertility’. Access offers patients the chance to fix the cost of IVF treatment, potentially making an overall saving and receiving refunds of up to 100 per cent for some packages where treatment does not result in livebirth.

“You can have two cycles at a reduced cost or you can have unlimited cycles with a money back guarantee. 

“Seventy per cent of our couples use Access because they understand that IVF isn't guaranteed to work so they need to look at potentially more than one cycle and plan for that both emotionally and financially."

Dr Raine-Fenning added: "The whole of the Nurture team has been tested for Covid and we will be tested again. Also every patient who enters one of our clinics has a full detailed Covid questionnaire completed about their exposure and has their temperature checked.

"Face masks are vital at all times. It’s essential we protect everybody and we have got a robust system in place.

"I’m uber-excited about the clinic opening. I love the people in Stoke who we already look after; they are fun, down to earth and easy to talk to. I very much forward to meeting more of them. I only wish we had done this  two or three years ago. 

"Funding around the UK allows people to have one cycle of IVF. Stoke-on-Trent is the only CCG in the whole of the Midlands that is more patient friendly. They have allowed two cycles of IVF which is brilliant although we are still pushing for the three, as recommended by NICE, for all of our patients."