This page is intended for GPs and clinicians referring patients and couples for fertility advice, investigations and treatment.
NUH Life is the fertility outpatients service based at Queen’s Medical Centre, providing fertility investigations and treatment on an NHS-funded and self-funded basis.
We are a specialist centre for donor insemination (DI) treatment, making us an ideal first stop for any patient looking to use donor sperm – for example single women, lesbian couples and heterosexual couples where the male is azoospermic.
We also have a specialist laboratory for male fertility testing and preservation. For information about referring patients for semen analysis and sperm freezing (banking) click here.
Eligibility for referral
All patients, including single women, same sex couples and couples with children already, can be referred to NUH Life for fertility investigations, so long as the BMI of the intended birth parent is <35.
For patients who are UK citizens currently resident in the UK, or overseas nationals with EU Settled Status/ Indefinite Leave to Remain, fertility consultation and investigation at NUH Life is usually covered by the NHS.
Overseas visitors
GPs can identify overseas visitors as those patients with a green, amber or red banner on their Summary Care Record.
Overseas visitors should still be referred to NUH Life in the usual way, but should be made aware that they may need to fully self-fund or part-fund any appointments they attend. This is because the Immigration Health Surcharge generally does not cover NHS assisted conception services. (There are limited exceptions for asylum seekers, victims of modern slavery, members of the armed forces and some others.)
After the referral is received, NUH Life will contact the patient directly to confirm their eligibility for NHS-funded consultation and investigations. This will require the patient sending in evidence of their visa and residency status to the Overseas Visitor department at Nottingham University Hospitals. If the patient does not respond promptly to the hospital’s requests, this may delay their referral. There is no further action required by the GP in this respect.
If an overseas visitor is eligible for NHS-funded assisted conception services, they will receive their fertility consultations and investigations at NUH Life on the NHS, but they will still need to meet their local ICB criteria to be eligible for NHS-funded fertility treatment.
Investigations to be completed prior to referral
For all patients referred to NUH Life, please include the following information:
For patients with regular menstrual cycles:
- FSH and LH (take on day 1-5 of menstrual cycle) within 6 months
- Chlamydia within 6 months
- Height (m), weight (kg) and BMI (referrals will be rejected if BMI is >35)
- Partner semen analysis within 12 months (not necessary if single patient or same-sex couple)
For patients with irregular menstrual cycles:
- FSH and LH (taken on any cycle day) within 6 months
- Prolactin & TSH within 6 months
- Chlamydia within 6 months
- Height (m), weight (kg) and BMI (referrals will be rejected if BMI is >35)
- Partner semen analysis within 12 months (not necessary if single patient or same-sex couple)
Referrals without this information attached will be rejected.
Referral process
The GP referral process for ALL patients (NHS-funded and self-funding patients) is through the E-Referral Service (ERS), previously known as Choose and Book. It is essential that the F12 referral template is completed and attached to the referral, any referral without the required information and test results will be rejected.
There is a two stage vetting process. Our admin team checks that the BMI is included on the referral. Then our clinical team checks that all the required test results have been included. Incomplete referrals may be rejected at either stage.
NHS funding criteria for fertility treatment
Local ICBs recommend that patients should still be referred to NUH Life for NHS-funded fertility investigations, even if they do not meet the criteria for NHS-funded fertility treatment. This includes single women, same sex couples and couples with children already. Patients should not be referred directly to tertiary care.
After the appropriate clinical investigations, NUH Life team will confirm with the patient their eligibility for NHS-funded treatment, offer NHS-funded or self-funded treatment as appropriate, and if requiring IVF/ ICSI, refer them on to a specialist centre.
NHS funding criteria differs across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire ICBs. For more information about the criteria for NHS-funded fertility treatment please refer to our NHS Funding page.