The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recently gave notice to NHS Cheshire and Merseyside that they would be ceasing their provision of fertility services. As a result, anyone receiving fertility care at the Countess of Chester Hospital via Care Fertility (who provided fertility services on behalf of the Countess of Chester Hospital) were required to seek an alternative fertility provider by the end of September 2023.
The Hewitt Fertility Centre - based at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust - has been working with NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, the Countess of Chester Hospital, and Care Fertility, to ensure continuity of care for patients under an NHS funding pathway.
An agreement has been reached to transfer patients under an NHS funding pathway from the Countess of Chester Hospital / Care Fertility, to the Hewitt Fertility Centre. A contract to confirm this transfer of service is being finalised and the provision of services for affected patients who have chosen to move their care to the Hewitt Fertility Centre, will be offered in due course.
Once the service has been formally transferred to the Hewitt Fertility Centre, a fertility clinic will be established at the Countess of Chester Hospital for some appointments and procedures, managed by staff from the Hewitt Fertility Centre.
Patients who wish to receive some of their care at the Hewitt Fertility Centre’s Countess of Chester Hospital clinic, can wait for the service to commence at that location. Alternatively, patients can choose to receive their care straight away at the main Hewitt Fertility Centre site, based within Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
All patients who are affected by this change should have been contacted by now with advice and support.
If you are an NHS funded patient who is affected by this change and have not yet been contacted, or if you need further advice and support, or if you are a self-funded patient who wants to discuss your options for transferring your care to the Hewitt Fertility Centre, please call 0151 702 4121 or email hewitt.centre@lwh.nhs.uk.