Mid Essex CCG cuts IVF funding

Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning
Group (CCG) has announced it will no longer be funding IVF except under 'clinically
exceptional circumstances'.

The decision means that women
and couples in Braintree, Maldon, and Chelmsford will have to pay to receive
fertility treatment at private clinics. Mid Essex CCG had previously funded
three cycles of IVF for infertile couples, meeting the national guidelines as
set out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The CCG, which says it is one
of the most financially challenged organisations in England, has made the cuts as
part of a drive to save money.

Dr Caroline Dollery, who chairs
Mid Essex CCG, said: 'It has been an incredibly tough decision for the CCG
Board to make as we aware it will be a huge disappointment for people affected
by fertility issues in mid Essex. But at this moment in time the CCG needs to
make £8 million in savings and further savings next year'.

The decision has been met with outrage
from organisations campaigning for equal access to fertility treatment.

'What the CCG has done is
totally appalling. Infertility has a huge impact on people’s lives, and denying
them access to medical treatment which can help is cruel, unfair, and totally
unjustified', said Susan Seenan, chief executive of patient charity Infertility
Network UK. 'In a national health service, no one should be denied medical help
because of where they live, and yet that is exactly what mid Essex CCG has
done'.

'We urge the CCG to reinstate
services at the first opportunity', said Sarah Norcross, co-chair of campaign group Fertility
Fairness and director of the Progress Educational Trust, the organisation that
publishes BioNews. 'The cost of fertility treatment is a tiny fraction of this
CCG's total annual budget but it is viewed as a line in the budget that is easy
to cut'.

Fertility clinics in Essex also
spoke of their disappointment, with some labelling the decision a 'devastating blow'. 'The impact of
this decision will undoubtedly cause immense heartbreak to many within our
community', said Andy Glew, director of Chelmsford clinic Simply Fertility.

The CCG says it will continue
to fund surgery and drugs for ovarian stimulation, but 'will only fund
specialist fertility services in exceptional clinical cases' although it is
unclear what the criteria will be. In July this year, the CCG published a
proposal to offer fertility treatment solely to cancer patients and
HIV-positive men (as reported in BioNews 764).

Dr Donald McGeachy, medical director
of Mid Essex CCG, told
ITV News: 'We have consulted with the public over the last 12 weeks. Most
of them haven't agreed with what we've done, but equally we don't have a whole
lot of other areas where we can try to save this money'.