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23/10/2014

NICE Tell NHS To End IVF Postcode Lottery

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has called on the NHS in England to end the postcode lottery of IVF treatment.

NICE say that the NHS should provide women with three rounds of IVF treatment, but highlight how just 1 in 5 of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England are offering the full number, and in York the treatment is not offered at all.

In a statement released on their website, NICE said:

The NHS should stop rationing fertility treatment and provide 3 full cycles of IVF treatment to women aged under 40 who have failed to get pregnant after 2 years of trying, and 1 full cycle for some women aged 40-42, says NICE.

The new quality standard – which compliments the NICE fertility guideline – emphasises the importance of treating fertility and aims to end the postcode lottery of treatment and support for people with fertility problems.

Currently, fewer than 1 in 5 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England are offering the full number of NICE-recommended cycles, according to an investigation by Fertility Fairness.

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More than half of CCGs only offer 1 cycle to eligible couples while people with fertility problems in the Vale of York are refused IVF treatment altogether. Seven other CCGs were claiming to offer three cycles of IVF when in fact they only offered 1.

Mid Essex CCG has recently revised its policy for funding specialist fertility services and will now only fund exceptional clinical cases, as it seeks to make £8 million in savings.

NICE updated its fertility guideline in February last year to extend IVF treatment to some women aged between 40 and 42 years, if they have not conceived after 2 years of regular unprotected intercourse, or 12 cycles of artificial insemination where 6 or more are by intrauterine insemination. However, few CCGs have updated their fertility policies to include this recommendation.

Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive of NICE, said: "Infertility is a recognised medical condition. People affected, who include 1 in 7 heterosexual couples, should be able to receive treatment as a core NHS service.

"Some parts of England are doing very well in offering the full NICE-recommended number of IVF cycles for all eligible women up to the age of 42. This is particularly true in the North, in areas like Northumberland, Oldham and Cumbria.

"Others are still to introduce a cycle of IVF for women between the ages of 40 and 42, but have at least committed to providing 3 full cycles of IVF to women under 40-years-old, such as Camden and Gloucestershire. But, many areas are not even doing this.

"Infertility can have a potentially devastating effect on people’s lives: it can cause significant distress, depression and possibly lead to the breakdown of relationships. It is unacceptable that parts of England are choosing to ignore NICE recommendations for treating infertility. This perpetuates a postcode lottery and creates inequalities in healthcare across the country."

(MH/CD)

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"The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has called on the NHS in England to end the postcode lottery of IVF treatment."