#IVFGoldStandard available in only four areas of England, in stark contrast to Scotland

Scotland provides the #IVFGold standard – 3 full IVF cycles for women under 40 and access if one of a couple has a child from a previous relationship. In contrast, in England, it is your postcode and your pay packet, and not your medical need, which are now the key determinants of whether you will be able to try IVF.

Research by campaign group Fertility Fairness released today, 30th October 2017, reveals that the number of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England offering the recommended 3 IVF cycles to eligible women under 40 has halved in the last 5 years: just 12 per cent now follow national guidance, down from 24 per cent in 2013. In contrast, the number of CCGs which have removed NHS IVF has almost doubled in the last year. This is in stark contrast to the situation in Scotland where the #IVFGoldStandard ensures that all eligible patients can access up to three full cycles, including couples where one partner has no biological child.

Sarah Norcross, co-chair of Fertility Fairness said: ‘The scale of disinvestment in NHS fertility services is at its worst since NICE introduced national fertility guidelines in 2004. Fertility Fairness is calling for full implementation of the NICE guidelines, standardisation of eligibility criteria across England and the development of a national tariff in England for tertiary fertility services – eliminating regional cost variants and removing a key barrier to CCGs’ compliance with national guidelines.’

Susan Seenan, co-chair of Fertility Fairness and chief executive of patient charity Fertility Network UK, said: ‘This National Fertility Awareness Week we are commemorating 40 years of IVF, 40 years of a life-changing technology pioneered in England. However, that achievement means nothing if only those who can afford private IVF benefit. The Government should be ashamed that, after 40 years of IVF, it is your postcode and your pay packet, and not your medical need, which are the key determinants of whether you will be able to try IVF.’

For more information

–        Read the Fertility Fairness 2017 Report

–        Check out the Fertility Fairness 2017 Infographic showing the shocking unfairness across England

–        See where your CCG sits in the 2017 League Table

–        Read the Fertility Fairness Press Release

 

And please join our Thunderclap campaign calling for #IVFGoldStandard across the UK https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/57902-ivfgoldstandard-across-the-uk