Finally - a response from Jayne Brown, Interim CE of North Yorkshire and York PCT

In September 2008 we forwarded this Blog and the list of comments everyone kindly left. Almost four months later they decided to respond. Of course it is not good news and we had already found out for ourselves (and posted here) regarding the current situation.


15/01/2009

Dear Mr and Mrs (Postcode Losers)

Thank you for your email dated 23 September 2008 with regard to IVF and sub fertility services, and for enclosing a copy/print out of your blog, which I have read with interest. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you.

As you are aware, in May 2007, the PCT took the very difficult decision not to routinely commission assisted conception services for the majority of couples (other than those where the female partner was approaching 39 years and 6 months) and at that point, the waiting list held by Leeds General Infirmary was closed to new patients. We do regret that this is a far from ideal situation but unfortunately, as Janet Soo Chung's letter to all patients pointed out, it was felt necessary to take this action in the face of the severe financial deficit which the PCT faced at that time.

Since then, I am pleased to report that the financial situation has improved and we have now been able to re-assess the situation for financial year 2009/10 with regard to funding of assisted conception services. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to re-open the waiting list to new patients. However, we have been able to agree to treat all those patients who were placed on the Leeds General Infirmary NHS waiting list on or before May 2007. From next month onwards, patients will begin to be called through in priority order of having been placed on the waiting list for a review clinic outpatient appointment with a view to treatment following as soon as clinically appropriate.

Once all the waiting list patients have been treated, the PCT will review the position with regard to whether or not new patients can once again be added to the waiting list.

You may be interested to know that two senior members of PCT staff recently met with Clare Lewis-Jones, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, for a full and open discussion about infertility services for North Yorkshire patients.

I hope you find this information helpful, however if I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Jayne Brown OBE
Interim Chief Executive

The NHS offers Top-ups...

So - the NHS is considering adopting mobile phone operatoresque payment plans. Top-up payments for your NHS care no less! No word about whether this will effect IVF provision in North Yorkshire yet - and we won't be holding out any hope that it will have any effect any time soon.

In fact, several weeks ago, we took the liberty of asking our GP whether any of the drugs would be available to us via the NHS (our own little form of Top-up payments). But of course they are not. Not only is IVF treatment not available to the vast majority of residents in North Yorkshire, but none of the drugs that make up any the treatment are available either. Because of our postcode.

Need I say more?

When this says it all..

No news is bad news

It is over two weeks since we emailed every member of North Yorkshire and York PCT's Clinical Leadership Programme with details of our situation and giving them the list of comments left on our petition.

Not one person, not a single solitary person had the good grace to reply to us, to give us feedback on the current situation.

It is one thing being in this dreadful position in the first place, but it is another thing entirely for every member of the team charged with running our PCT to completely ignore us.

It sums up just what these people think about dealing with the public they are paid to serve.

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.