varoblog

(wz) A glimmer of hope has been offered to women desperate for help conceiving a child, as North Yorkshire health bosses have pledged to reconsider swingeing IVF funding cuts.
The Press has learned North Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has decided to review its near-total suspension of IVF treatment for couples.
At the end of 2006, the debt-ridden PCT implemented urgent money-saving measures to balance its books. These included suspending IVF treatment - except in cases where the woman was aged 39 years and six months or older and egg collection could be achieved before she turned 40.
Prior to the cuts, women could join a waiting list of about 18-months for NHS treatment, before receiving one cycle of IVF. Many PCTs offer two, or even three, cycles of free treatment.
Since then the only alternative has been for couples to spend £3,500 per cycle on private treatment.
But in a letter to Selby MP John Grogan, PCT chief executive Dr Janet Soo-Chung has pledged to reconsider the funding cuts.
Dr Soo-Chung said: “I am able to confirm that the PCT is planning to make good the shortfall in those clinical areas which have been affected by the financial recovery plan, for example IVF services, and the PCT recognises that we need to move this position forward in 2000/09.
The plan is to address restrictions around the commissioning of IVF services within the financial year 2008/09. more…

From: »The Press«

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 08:00 by Werner Zapf and is filed under General, Industry, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.