Nurses urge action on IVF treatment
(cz) The Government must take action to ensure infertile women are given three cycles of IVF on the NHS, nurses have said.
They called for an end to the postcode lottery which sees some women able to access free fertility treatment while others are forced to pay for care.
Four years ago, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said women should be given three cycles of IVF on the NHS in England.
Then health secretary John Reid promised one cycle each but stopped short of setting out a timetable for when the NHS would implement the full guideline to give women three chances.
A Department of Health survey of primary care trusts (PCTs) released last year showed that few trusts have implemented the Nice guideline in full.
Nurses voted nine to one to lobby the Government to ensure NHS trusts implemented the guidance.
Jane Denton, from the Royal College of Nursing’s fertility group, told the annual conference in Bournemouth: “It discourages me that even now when people go forward for treatment it’s an enormous battle every step of the way. It adds to the pain and what many see as the stigma of infertility. The importance of the Nice guidance is essential.” more…
From: »The Press Association«