A response from North Yorkshire and York PCT

Earlier this week I wrote about the Government's letter to all PCTs regarding their provision of IVF and other assisted fertility treatments. I said I would be speaking to our PCT and I finally managed to get through to the right person yesterday (name withheld). I was told that they have yet to receive the letter, although they are aware of it.

The person I spoke to about it was very candid and open about their position and said they would have to wait until they receive the letter, read through the details of the proposal in full and decide on a way of implementing things. She was quick to admit that it will take some time before things can be changed and that we should not expect any quick decisions.

So, here we are, still not even able to get onto a waiting list, never mind get any treatment. The PCT will not even give us a target date for the re-provision of the service. This is simply because our PCT overspent so wastefully and shamefully which led to them withdrawing a treatment that the Government and NICE have repeatedly said should be provided on the NHS. This is also in spite of them being aware that the Health Minister has, just this week, written to them again to tell them they should be providing a full three cycles of IVF including frozen embryo provision. But what do residents under the juristiction of North Yorkshire and York PCT get? A new car park at York hospital.

The comment I found particularly surprising was 'I will be the happiest person in the world when I can tell couples they can have IVF treatment in North Yorkshire'. Somehow I do not think she will be happier than the people being told they no longer have to find countless thousands of pounds to fund the treatment that 95% of the UK gets access to on the NHS.

Fresh pressure on PCTs to provide IVF

Following a meeting by the Expert Group on Commissioning NHS Infertility Provision, the Government's Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo, has written to all PCTs to recommend that three courses of IVF should be provided to all eligible couples, rather than the one course that 95% of PCTs now offer, writes The Times. It us such a shame that North Yorkshire and York PCT remains one of three PCTs to offer no IVF treatment whatsoever.

I will be contacting them next week to see if this new recomendation will finally make them shift from their position, compel them to act positively and think with compassion towards couples struggling to conceive rather than looking into their collective wallets.

The postcode lottery on Panorama

We watched the very interesting Panorama programme last night. Although it focussed on a slightly different issue to the one we are experiencing, it still exposed the huge flaws in the localised spending on the NHS and the lottery of care that follows.

Perhaps it is time for the Government to become actively involved and ensure a fair and centralised system is put in place. Then we can all be assured of receiving parity in our healthcare needs, rather than finding ourselves unable to receive help whilst someone else, sometimes living on the other side of the street, is able to receive it.

We pay into the system equally - we should be able to benefit from it equally.

IVF on the NHS - the facts

To put the situation in North Yorkshire into perspective on a national scale:

There are 151 PCTs in England, each receiving their budget directly from the Department of Health.

In February 2004 NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) recommended that three cycles of IVF should be provided by the NHS if the woman is between 23 and 39 years old.

At that time the then Health Secretary, John Reid said that he expected all Primary Care Trusts to be offering at least one cycle by 2005, with the longer term aim of full implementation including three cycles of IVF per appropriate patient.

- In August 2008 only nine of the 151 PCTs offer three cycles.

- 138 PCTs offer just one or two cycles.

- North Yorkshire and York PCT remains one of the four remaining PCTs to refuse to offer ANY cycles of NHS funded IVF.

They should be ashamed.

An update

Well perhaps not the news we had been hoping for, but as a result of the last round of tests, Professor Balen has decided that the best course of action to take is IVF with ICSI. So now, more than ever, we will be feeling the full impact of North Yorkshire and York PCT's decision to not fund IVF.

The minimum charge for a single course we have found so far is £3,320, and prices can go up to an incredible £10,000. For a single attempt.

We wonder if they actually care that every resident of their district has to find the funds to privately proceed with treatment?

We wonder if they care that just 12 miles away, residents in West Yorkshire can get assistance with the costs?

We wonder if our tax and national insurance contributions are being distributed fairly so that they can be used to treat other people but not us?

We wonder if the 'postcode lottery' is alive and kicking?

Yes it is - and it's kicking us in the teeth, and the administrator's of our PCT sit there and continue to have the audacity to state that they do provide IVF as their ruling 'does not apply in some cases of exceptional clinical need'.

So if my wife was in the six month window between 39.5yrs and 40yrs old or had a terminal disease, we may be eligible, otherwise we have to remain one of the 5% of the entire UK that does not have access to NHS-funded IVF treatment.

Can you stop kicking us in the teeth now please?

A response in the Harrogate Advertiser

The Harrogate Advertiser has run a letter in response to the article they ran last week. It is a very well argued point and really shows the PCT's decision as being ill thought out. No doubt the PCT will do all they can to avoid providing this vital service although they keep trotting out the line that 'women in real need will be given treatment'. It strikes me that they have not grasped the concept that any couple struggling to conceive ARE in real need.