St Jude's in the news (12/02/08)
St Jude's Hospital was recently featured in the Express & Star newspaper along with some of our past patients:
The article reads:
A Wolverhampton clinic is making dreams come true. Health correspondent HELEN CARTWRIGHT reports from St Jude's Hospital
As Sam Sargent gazes adoringly at her six-week-old twin boys she says she still can't believe her luck. That's because the 29-year-old and her husband Steve, aged 34, have spent the past four years praying for their arrival. Like one in seven couples across the country they struggled to conceive but when the Codsall pair turned to Wolverhampton's private St Jude's Hospital Sam fell pregnant with their first attempt at IVF.
And they aren't the only ones to be blessed with children after a visit to the Penn Road facility which is evident from the scores of thank you cards and baby pictures which fill every available space on window ledges and mantelpieces.
Sam said: "I still can't really believe it when I look at what I have got. We can't thank the hospital enough. We were trying for about 18 months before we sought help and I even had an operation to clear my tubes but although we were accepted for treatment on the NHS we were told there was a waiting list of up to five years. We started treatment last February and found out I was expecting in April, at our first attempt.
"We were told at six weeks we were to have twins, now that they are here it has been better than I expected. Even when you have had no sleep you can just look at them and think how lucky you are."
The fertility clinic has recently been named as one of the top 10 in the country for its success rate in getting women pregnant and staff there say the number of cases of fertility treatment continues to rise – so much so they are hoping to break into the top five in the next few years.
Current UK data shows the hospital currently has an official success rate of 36 per cent among women under 35 using their own fresh eggs. But health chiefs say the figure currently stands at 43 per cent. The national average stands at around 30 per cent. St Jude's has now been open for just over 10 years. It was set up by Jude Adeghe who has more than 20 years of experience in infertility, obstetrics and gynaecology including a stint as an NHS consultant at the city's New Cross Hospital.
It carries out around 200 treatment cycles a year on about 150 women, costing up to £3,000 a time. It treats families from across the West Midlands but news of its success has also spread across the world and desperate couples from Africa have even travelled to Wolverhampton for treatment.
Since its opening around 600 babies have been born with the help of the hospital and most of them still keep in touch with the staff as they are so grateful of their help. It takes them just two months to fill a large photo album with letters of thanks and pictures. Mr Adeghe, aged 51, who lives in Penn, said: "The reason I think we do well is because we are a small team and we do what we do passionately and meticulously. We offer an individualised service for women and we go according to a woman's cycle not by what is convenient to us.
"I never realised it would grow into this and for me seeing the smile of a baby lights up your heart in a way nothing else can."
Linda and Calvin Barnett from Perton have a three-year-old daughter Isobella and six-month old son Harrison after turning to St Jude's. They married the day after Linda's 41st birthday and started trying for a baby straight away.
Following three tries with IVF the couple turned to donor eggs and fell pregnant at the first time of trying with both their children. Linda said: "I have always wanted a family but I guess I was just a late starter. I think we show that you should never give up. When we had our first positive pregnancy test it was just wonderful, it is almost hard to put into words. It is life changing but the benefits are that it is just so much fun.”
Jo and Rob Hope, both aged 28, travelled to Wolverhampton for help from Stoke-on-Trent after they spent three-years trying for a baby. Their daughter Ellie, will be one next month. Rob said: "You get to the point where you start to lose hope that it is going to happen, you see everyone else have children and wonder why you can't. We were referred here and it worked first time. I when we did the pregnancy test at 5am in the morning, we were just so happy.”
Click here to view a copy of the article.
Call us on 01902 620 831 if you have any questions about St Jude's or to arrange a look around our hospitals in Wolverhampton or Newcastle-under-Lyme.
____
St Jude's Success Rates - Another big achievmement!
(7/1/08)
The HFEA has recently published live birth rates following assisted conception treatments for all clinics in the UK. We are delighted to say that St Jude's Women's Hospital has achieved as follows:
- No. 1 in the Midlands, topping other centres such as Birmingham Women's Hospital, The Priory Hospital Birminghamham and Midland Fertility services
- One of the top 10 in the UK
Click here to see a BBC news article with the clinics listed.
An express and star article on the HFEA data news reads:
"A Wolverhampton fertility clinic has been named as one of the top 10 in the county. St Jude's Women's Hospital has a success rate of 36 per cent among women under 35 using their own fresh eggs.
It was highlighted as the number of women undergoing fertility treatment continues to rise, along with success rates.
The latest UK data for 2005 showed a six per cent rise in the number of women having IVF, from 30,861 in 2004 to 32,626 in 2005.
A total of 9,058 births resulted in the delivery of 11,262 children, including multiple births. This gives an overall live birth rate for all IVF of 21.6 per cent, up 0.9 per cent from 2004.
For women under 35, the rate was 29.6 per cent, up 1.8 per cent from the 28.1 per cent in 2004."
We're pleased to be in the only clinic in the Midlands present on the list and feel that this reflects out commitment to patient care.
Please call us on 01902 620 831 if you have any questions about St Jude's or our services. We're happy for you to visit us and take a look around before committing to anything!
Click the links below to see copies of articles on this story:
a) Express and Star
b) Birmingham Mail
____
St Jude's Christmas Party - Online Clip (12/11/07)
Christmas is approaching again! In recent years, St Jude's has held a Christmas party to celebrate the births of new new babies during the year and to thank all those who have given us so much support.
We have been able to convert video footage of the first party to be held in our new premises in Wolverhampton in 2005. The clip below was shown aired on BBC news at the time. Watch the clip to see what a St Jude's party looks like!
____
New Patient Support Service - Prayer line (29/10/07)
In addition to the existing forms of support we offer our patients (e.g. visit our online forums here), St Jude's is now introducing a 'prayer line' where patients can email their requests to a prayer team. At St Jude's hospital, we believe in the power of prayer to meet human needs. There is ample evidence for the power of prayer to change undesirable circumstances and scientists have discovered the healing power of prayer.
If you would like to avail yourself of this form of support please e-mail requests to our prayer team leader, Ada Adeghe on prayer@stjudeshospital.co.uk. We now hold regular prayer sessions at St Jude's hospital. If you would like to attend, please e-mail for details of the next meeting.
____
St Jude's in Newcastle-under-Lyme gains Healthcare Commission registration (1/10/07)
St Jude’s Women’s Hospital in Newcastle-under-Lyme is proud to announce its recent registration with the Healthcare Commission. The Healthcare Commission is a governmental body in the UK which assesses service providers across a range of stringent criteria.
Going forward, St Jude’s Hospital in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in partnership with St Jude’s in Wolverhampton, is well placed to offer quality care to patients, and excellent operating facilities to consultants.
____
New Services - Early Pregnancy Care & Support (24/9/07)
We at St Jude's aim to look after patients beyond the time taken for a typical cycle of infertility treatment. On becoming pregnant, a GP will typically refer expectant mothers to a local hospital for antenatal care. However this first appointment is usually after 12 weeks of pregnancy, after which it will take time to develop a rapport with "new" care givers.
To provide much needed care and support in this initial stage of pregnancy when most ladies are understandably anxious, St Jude's now provide an Early Pregnancy Care Package from week 6 to 16 of a pregnancy.
This package will include:
For more information on care St Jude's can offer you during pregancy, call us on 01902 620831 or email us.
____
St Jude's in Newcastle-under-Lyme
We are pleased to announce the acquisition of new premises in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Naturally, we have named the premises St Jude's Hospital. The building is set in tranquil surroundings in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, with ample parking spaces and easy access to the hospital via train or road.
In addition to our present range of clinical services (i.e. fertility, gynaecology and antenatal care) we can now offer Day Care Surgery across several specialities.
The Hospital has a fully equipped operating theatre in addition to a minor surgery suite and offers General Surgery, Gynaecological Surgery & Opthalmological procedures.
The fertility services of our new premises in Newcastle-under-Lyme are offered in collaboration with our Wolverhampton site.
Patients living in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding regions now have the advantage of a local service making treatment easier and more desirable.
We are excited about our new premises in Newcastle-under-Lyme. We hope that together with St Jude's in Wolverhampton, we will improve the availability of quality, affordable private healthcare in the Midlands.
If you are a consultant with questions about operating from St Jude's Hospital, or a patient hoping to undergo a particular procedure, please contact the Newcastle-under-Lyme office on 01782 612500.
____
4D Ultrasound Scans
St Jude’s Women’s Hospital can now offer 4D ultrasound scans. Ultrasound scanning is a key method of monitoring the progress of a pregnancy. Traditional 3D ultrasound images allow a fetus to be shown in 3 dimensions. A 4D ultrasound scan takes this further by showing the fetus’ movements over time, for example yawning and stretching.
To enquire about a 4D scan, call us on 01902 620831.
