Homerton Healthcare Fertility Centre: update following reinstating of its license

Dear colleagues,

We are writing with an update on the Homerton Healthcare Fertility Centre following the decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to reinstate the licence to operate.

There will be a phased re-opening of the fertility centre from 8 August 2024 following the decision. The Trust has worked alongside the HFEA to address their concerns, put stringent practices in place and has updated equipment and documentation to ensure the licence was reinstated. The Trust will continue to work with the HFEA in the coming months as we methodically reintroduce our services as part of a process that will prioritise patient safety and care.

Please continue to refer patients to other providers as you are currently doing now. Despite the HFEA reinstating the licence we want to make sure the service restarts in the safest way possible – so the Trust will not be accepting referrals immediately. We will communicate any changes to referral practices to you as we gradually scale up services in the fertility centre.

We have written to all patients who were under the care of the fertility centre in March when the licence was suspended to update them – you can see the letter on Homerton’s website: www.homerton.nhs.uk/fertility. We were subsequently in contact in the months after to arrange the transfer of their care, if appropriate.

We know this has caused additional work over the last few months, so we want to take this opportunity to apologise for this and to thank you for your help and cooperation as we continue to prioritise continuity of care and safety for our patients.

If you have any issues or questions, please contact: nelondonicb.fertility@nhs.net.