Meet fertility experts at Ipswich Hospital open day

The event will focus on health, diet and wellbeing to help fertility, plus provide an update on what fertility services are available on the NHS.

A decision on whether to reduce access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Ipswich and east Suffolk has been deferred until early next year by the NHS organisation which funds the care in that area.

Ipswich Hospital matron Hannah English said: “One in six couples will experience difficulty conceiving a baby, but help is out there.

“This event is for people at any stage of their journey trying to conceive.

“They might be a few months into trying for a baby, they might want to know how to improve their chances before even starting to try, or they may want to plan now for a family later in life.

“There will also be information and advice specifically aimed at same sex couples.”

Ipswich Hospital has partnerships with the Cambridge IVF service, which is based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, and Guy’s and St Thomas’s in London, meaning there are lots of options available to those who qualify for NHS funding, and self-funding couples.

In July Suffolk’s two main clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) put forward a proposal to cut couples’ access to IVF treatment from two cycles to one or none in a bid to address a financial shortfall.

A public consultation on the plans revealed “mixed” views from the 1,400 respondents.

On September 27 governing body members of NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG decided to defer the decision for its location in order to allow more time to understand the implications of the proposal.

It is now anticipated that final decisions will be reached in January 2017.

The “Meet the Fertility Experts” event will take place on Saturday, November 12, at 10am, at Ipswich Hospital’s education centre, in the lecture theatre.

There is no need to book and guests can park for free in the hospital’s car park ‘J’.

Further information is available from Hannah English on 01473 704236.