End the postcode lottery for Shropshire residents (Telford & Wrekin Primary Care Trust)

End the postcode lottery for Shropshire residents when it comes to IVF funding and to ensure that current guidelines for IVF funding are adhered to by Telford & Wrekin PCT.

NICE clearly state in their guidelines for fertility;

“Couples in which the woman is aged 23-39 years at the time of treatment and who have an identified cause for their fertility problems (such as azoospermia or bilateral tubal occlusion) or who have infertility of at least 3 years’ duration should be offered up to three stimulated cycles of in vitro fertilization treatment.”

Unfortunately, many PCT’s do not adhere to this, leaving many couples facing a tough financial commitment or the bleak possibility of having to wait until they are old enough to meet the PCT’s criteria. Whereas some PCT’s do not offer funding for treatment at all.

Please note: Waiting for treatment reduces a women’s fertility rate.

It seems that funding for IVF is not given on the basis of fairness, but on where you live.

Many PCTs will follow nice guidelines, however in Shropshire your PCT use their own rules. For example discriminating against couples which have a child from a previous relationship or only funding two stimulated cycles of in vitro fertilization treatment.

This discrimination is unacceptable as National Health Insurance is not dependant on where you live, so why should healthcare be?

Former Secretary of State for Health, Dr John Reid, said that he wanted “all PCTs, including those who at present provide no IVF treatment, to offer at least one full cycle of treatment to all those eligible.. In the longer term I would expect the NHS to make progress towards full implementation of the Nice guidance”. His deadline for this was April 2005, but little has changed

All I am asking for is - End the postcode lottery for Shropshire residents when it comes to IVF funding and ensure that current guidelines for IVF funding are adhered to by Telford & Wrekin PCT.