NHS IVF cycles cut across Manchester

NHS Greater Manchester has announced plans to cut NHS-funded IVF cycles in four boroughs, standardising provision across the region to one cycle for eligible patients.

NHS-funded IVF across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester will be limited to a single cycle for eligible women aged 39 and under. A second funded cycle will only be offered if the first is cancelled or abandoned. The decision by NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB) aligns with Oldham's existing policy and aims to end local variation in access. However, the policy is not consistent with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guideline, which recommends three NHS-funded cycles for eligible women under 40 (see BioNews 1306).

'Access to NHS-funded IVF currently depends on where someone lives, and that variation is unfair and cannot continue,' Katherine Sheerin, chief commissioning officer for NHS Greater Manchester, said. 'We know that fertility treatment is deeply personal, and that this decision will be upsetting and disappointing for some people.... The updated policy will apply only to people referred to an IVF clinic on or after 1 April, so people already referred will continue to receive treatment under the previous policy.'

Tameside currently offers three NHS-funded IVF cycles, while Salford, Wigan and Stockport provide two. Six boroughs, including Oldham, where the first IVF baby Louise Brown was born in 1978, already limit provision to a single cycle, with a second attempt only offered if the first cycle was cancelled or abandoned. From April, all boroughs will adopt this same policy for eligible women aged 39 and under.

Eligible women aged 40-42 will remain entitled to one NHS-funded cycle of IVF across the region, and eligibility criteria will remain unchanged.

The decision follows a six-week public consultation on the proposed change in 2025 (see BioNews 1294). In their project report, the ICB noted that the consultation showed that there was 'a strong appetite to provide a consistent and equitable offer across Greater Manchester.' However, they added that many respondents voiced their 'very strong opposition' to the proposal, viewing it as a 'cost-cutting exercise' that 'levels down' care. Many respondents also expressed concern that the policy could worsen health inequalities and push families towards private treatment, creating a 'two-tier system'.

The Fertility Alliance charity criticised the ICB's decision, and chief executive Gwenda Burns urged people with concerns to contact their MPs.

'Patients, clinicians and advocacy groups gave their time, shared personal experiences and participated in good faith, only for the final decision to contradict the clear direction of the consultation,' said Burns. 'Offering only one NHS-funded attempt is not just clinically unsound, it is emotionally punishing. The impact will not be equal. Those who can afford private treatment may continue, while others will be forced to abandon their hopes of having a child.'

PET (the Progress Educational Trust) free-to-use Fertility Policy Tracker offers a regularly-updated guide to IVF funding and fertility policies within each of England's 42 ICBs (see BioNews 1247).