Fertility Treatment Suspended By Northamptonshire Primary Care Trusts - NIAC Responds With Dismay, UK

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 16 Sep 2006 - 11:00 PDT

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The National Infertility Awareness Campaign (NIAC) has responded with dismay to the decision by Primary Care Trusts in Northamptonshire to suspend fertility treatment for patients.

In her response to the announcement, Clare Brown, Chair of NIAC, urged the Primary Care Trusts to reconsider their position, saying that,

"We are very concerned about the impact this decision will have on the many patients seeking treatment for infertility on the NHS. In recognising the devastating effects of infertility and the pain and distress caused by the condition, the Government called for all Primary Care Trusts to provide at least one full cycle of IVF by April 2005, as the first step towards implementing the recommendations of NICE clinical guideline on fertility in full."

"The decision taken by Northamptonshire will be devastating to those couples already on the waiting list for treatment, as well as those new couples who should be referred for fertility treatment over the next year. Even when the service is resumed, it will still only be available to women aged between 31 and 39 years, and not from 23 to 39 as NICE recommended. We would ask any couples who have been informed that they will be affected by this decision to contact us directly."

Ms Brown added that, "This situation needs to be addressed without delay if we are to ensure that couples, regardless of where they live, have access to the standard of care set out in the guideline. I would urge the Government to act now to reassure patients across the country that they will not be denied access to the treatment they have been promised, and call on the Northamptonshire PCTs to reinstate funding as a matter of urgency."

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The National Infertility Awareness Campaign is an umbrella organisation established in 1993 with the support of leading organisations involved in the field of infertility to campaign for equality of NHS funding for infertility treatment, including Infertility Network UK, the British Fertility Society, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

For further information please visit:
National Infertility Awareness Campaign

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