Manchester Fertility

Updated 12 July 2021

Manchester Fertility Services Limited is located on the outskirts of Cheadle. The building address is Amelia House, 3 Oakwood Square, Cheadle Royal Business Park Manchester SK8 3SB.

The service has been established for 30 years in the North West.

The service is located in a two-storey building. The entrance has full disabled access which leads to what was (prior COVID-19) a seated reception area. Facilities are spread over two floors and include one operating theatre, outpatient and diagnostic facilities. A second patient waiting area is located on the first floor which was fully accessible by stairs or by a passenger lift. All staffing areas are closed off to the public with a key fob entry system.

The service provides surgical procedures but has no overnight stays.

The service is regulated by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The service is led by two managing directors (one male and one female) and they employ a range of clinical staff including obstetricians and gynaecologists, clinical embryologists, fertility nurses and midwifes, radiographers and sonographers. A team of administration staff support the service. In total the service has 70 employees.

The service is open 7.00am to 6.00pm every weekday; afternoon surgery starts at 14.00 pm until 18.00pm. With Saturday and Sunday opened between 08.00am till 12.00 noon.

How we inspected this service

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Before visiting, we reviewed a range of information and policies from the service. We carried out an announced visit on 25 May 2021. During our visit we:

• Spoke with a range of staff including managing directors, various nurses, various heads of departments, and administrative staff.
• Observed the patient’s journey and how patients were cared for.
• Reviewed four anonymised samples of patient’s records.
• Reviewed submitted online comments where patients and members of the public shared their views and experiences of the service.

Updated 12 July 2021

This service is rated as Good.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Manchester Fertility Services Limited as part of our inspection programme.

Manchester Fertility Services Limited provides diagnosis, treatment and counselling for people undergoing assisted conception. It is licensed to provide a range of fertility treatments by the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

We did not speak directly to people who use the service during this inspection due to COVID -19. People attend for appointments and day case procedures only. Prior to the inspection we provided the service with details to allow patients to share their experiences directly with the CQC electronically.

We received 23 electronic comments cards, 20 of these provided positive commentary and patients stated how happy they were with their treatment, they felt staff were supportive and caring and they told us how successful their treatment/ outcomes had been. Three comments were dissatisfied about aspects of their experience, mainly around costing.

We saw the following good practice:

• Throughout the inspection the service demonstrated positive examples of holistic responses to patients’ needs resulting in positive outcomes. With strong visible clinical, managerial leadership and governance arrangements in place to support the development and implementation of the learning cycles, new systems and innovations.
• The service had a programme of continuous quality improvement through clinical and internal audits, these were used to monitor quality and to make improvements, whilst being able to provide quality auditable data.
• The service won two accolades in December 2020 from Corporate Vision magazine. Winning ‘Best Fertility Clinic’ in the North West and the best ‘Patient Care Excellence’ awards.
• The service had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced and was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff.
• All staff fully understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised and transparent throughout the whole service.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care