IVF funding to be reinstated

IVF funding to be reinstated

3:20pm Wednesday 4th June 2014 in Ryedale news

A CHARITY which supports couples who are struggling to conceive has welcomed the news that Scarborough and Ryedale CCG are planning to reinstate funding for fertility treatment.

Susan Seenan, chief executive of Infertility Network UK said they were delighted to hear that the CCG had recognised the importance of funding fertility treatment and were now looking at reintroducing this service for patients in the area.

"Guidance set by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends up to three cycles of treatment for eligible couples and yet 10 years since the guideline was first published we are still facing an arbitrary approach to IVF funding around the country," she added.

Scarboroughs decision means that the only area in the whole of the UK failing to fund any NHS treatment will be Vale of York and we hope now that they too will now review their policy. Lets not forget that infertility is a medical condition and that people with a fertility problem have the same right to be treated by the NHS as anyone else.

The former Primary Care Trust ceased funding IVF in 2011 due to financial pressures,.

However at the CCGs Governing Body meeting held in public at Ryedale District Council last week, Carrie Wollerton, Executive Nurse on the Governing Body., recommended the establishment of a working group to further investigate options for reintroducing IVF.

The recommendation received wide support from other Governing Body members.

Mrs Wollerton said that although the funding of IVF did not feature on the CCGs financial plans for 2014/15, funding should still be considered, particularly in light of moves by neighbouring CCGs to reintroduce some form of IVF treatment.

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IVF funding to be reinstated