Talks over whether to improve IVF treatment welcomed

From this April, local groups of GPs in new clinical commissioning groups took on responsibility for spending on fertility care including IVF. At present IVF is “not routinely commissioned” by four clinical commissioning groups in North Yorkshire.

Guidance by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) says couples should be entitled to three rounds of IVF paid for by the NHS although this is available in barely a quarter of areas amid complaints of a continuing postcode lottery in access. In previous years some couples in the county were denied IVF by the former primary care trusts as they looked to save cash and balance their books.

Today members of the Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group will meet to decide whether to expand fertility services. They will debate whether to offer one cycle of IVF to eligible couples, whether to offer three rounds or whether to continue to offer services by “exception only.”

Susan Seenan, deputy chief executive of patient charity Infertility Network UK, said yesterday: “The NICE guideline recommends three full cycles for eligible couples for good reason, based on its own robust clinical data and cost-effectiveness. CCGs which fail to offer three cycles are putting patients at a clear disadvantage by denying them access to the NHS treatment that they deserve.

“We welcome any move by Harrogate and Rural CCG to consider improvements to its current IVF policy.”

In North Yorkshire the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group has already said it aspires to meet Nice IVF recommendations by 2014. The NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group plans a future review and NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group is reviewing policies and looking at priorities for 2014/15.

In June, Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, confirmed Britain could become the first country in the world to permit babies to be born with three genetic parents opening the door to controversial treatments for inherited diseases that make use of donated DNA from a second donor “mother.”