Fertility treatment

UK Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced plans last week for a national set of guidelines aimed at standardising the provision of fertility treatment available on the National Health Service (NHS). He will ask the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to update and review existing guidelines produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

The NICE guidelines will tackle the so-called 'postcode lottery' of fertility treatment offered throughout the country: some health authorities spend £500,000 per year on fertility treatment, while others spend nothing. 'It was right for the NHS to first target cancer, coronary heart disease and mental health services in the modernisation programme' said Mr Milburn. 'However, now the NHS has record funding secured...it is time to tackle infertility'.The government says that although the NICE advice will result in some savings - for example, through more effective drug prescription - it is likely to cost the NHS tens of millions of pounds overall. Infertility affects one in seven couples in the UK, with nearly 45,000 seeking treatment each year. At least three-quarters of IVF treatments are currently carried out privately, at a cost of £2000-3000 per cycle.

Patients and professionals welcomed the news: 'We are delighted the health department has at last recognised infertility as a medical condition worthy of treatment' said Richard Kennedy, secretary of the British Fertility Society.