PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsSomerset cuts IVF funding to one cycle only

BioNews

Somerset cuts IVF funding to one cycle only

Published 14 September 2016 posted in News and appears in BioNews 841

Author

Rikita Patel

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

Somerset CCG has announced that its provision of NHS-funded IVF will be reduced from two cycles to one...

Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has announced that its provision of NHS-funded IVF will be reduced from two cycles to one. It has also said that IVF will no longer be available to people where one partner has a child from a previous or current relationship.

The CCG says that its new IVF eligibility criteria, which will come into practice in April this year, are part of an effort to reduce waiting times for fertility treatment from three to two years. However, the decision to limit access to fertility treatment is not in keeping with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, which although not mandatory, is based on cost and clinical effectiveness.

The NICE fertility guidelines, issued in 2004 and revised in 2013, state that all eligible couples, in which a woman is under the age of 40, should receive three cycles of IVF. Further, women aged 40-42 may access one full IVF cycle, provided that certain criteria are met. A CCG must provide clear reasons for any policy that does not follow NICE's recommendations.

Yet, despite being told to end the IVF 'postcode lottery' by NICE (see BioNews 754), fewer than one in five CCGs are fully compliant with the guidance (see BioNews 826).

Fertility Fairness, which campaigns for equal access to NHS-funded fertility services in the UK, says the disparity in the provision of NHS fertility services in England is widening and that the south west of England has the lowest provision of fertility services. CCGs in Cornwall, Devon, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Dorset, and now Somerset are all offering just one funded IVF cycle.
 
Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, the charity which publishes BioNews, and co-chair of Fertility Fairness, said:  'The south west is now a fertility blackspot. In the south west region, 90 percent of CCGs offer just one funded cycle of IVF; across England as a whole, 57 percent of CCGs offer one cycle of NHS-funded fertility treatment.'

Figures produced by Fertility Fairness show that between 2013 and 2015 the number of CCGs offering three cycles has fallen from 24 percent to 18 percent, while those offering one cycle increased from 49 percent to 57 percent.

Somerset CCG said that it will review its fertility policy after two years.

Related Articles

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Comment
6 November 2017 • 4 minutes read

Fertility Fairness and the IVF postcode lottery

by Sarah Norcross

Sarah Norcross, Director of the Progress Educational Trust and Co-Chair of the campaigning organisation Fertility Fairness, speaks on TV and radio about worsening access to publicly funded IVF...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
30 October 2017 • 2 minutes read

Audit shows extent of IVF 'postcode lottery'

by Dr Rachel Montgomery

Only 16 percent of Clinical Commissioning Groups in England follow the national guidance on access to NHS fertility treatment, according to an audit by campaign group Fertility Fairness...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
11 July 2017 • 2 minutes read

Bristol hospital IVF unit to close

by Dr Kimberley Bryon-Dodd

From November 2017, patients will no longer be able to receive IVF at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Southmead Hospital...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
28 November 2016 • 3 minutes read

IVF funding: Bedfordshire 1 — Brentwood 0

by Ari Haque

Basildon and Brentwood CCG has announced that it will no longer provide fertility treatment, including IVF on the NHS to new patients...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
26 September 2016 • 2 minutes read

Funding for IVF in England 'bleak'

by Dr Lone Hørlyck

Thirteen Clinical Commissioning Groups are considering making cuts to IVF funding, potentially removing the procedure on the NHS in some areas...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
30 March 2016 • 3 minutes read

Third of GPs back end to NHS IVF funding

by Ryan Ross

A third of general practitioners believe that the NHS should not fund IVF treatment, according to a recent poll...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
2 November 2015 • 3 minutes read

'Worrying' trend in NHS IVF provision

by Rebecca Carr

The number of CCGs in England offering the recommended number of IVF cycles to its patients is falling, with two CCGs in Essex decommissioning their assisted conception services altogether...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
2 October 2015 • 2 minutes read

North East Essex CCG cuts IVF funding

by Kirsty Oswald

North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group has announced that it is ending its IVF funding, and fertility treatment will only be available to specific groups of patients...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
5 December 2014 • 2 minutes read

Another U-turn as York agrees to fund IVF

by Seán Byrne

The NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group has agreed to fund one cycle of IVF, having at one time been the only CCG not to offer the treatment at all after funding was suspended in 2010....

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
29 September 2014 • 2 minutes read

Mid Essex CCG cuts IVF funding

by Siobhan Chan

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

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« 'Ginger gene' raises melanoma risk independently of sun exposure

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Call to end ban on HIV-positive partner gamete 'donation'

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Melanoma invades new tissues using nerve cell gene

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Exceeding alcohol limits could damage DNA and accelerate ageing

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Blood cell gene mutations affect mitochondria, increasing cardiovascular disease risk

15 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Jumping gene helps immune system fight viruses

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856