IVF in VK en NL; standpunt britse D66-partij

[Aris B.]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Beste mensen,

dit persbericht (met wat krantenknipsels) vond ik wel heel erg actueel
gezien de Nederlandse discussie. 

  _____  


PRICE TO PAY FOR FREE IVF TREATMENT - HARRIS


26/08/2003

The expansion of IVF treatment in the NHS is welcome but there will be a
price to pay, Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary,
said today.

Dr Harris' comments are in response to today's news that guidance from the
National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) says most infertile couples
should not have to pay for IVF treatment. 

Dr Evan Harris MP said:

 "The expansion of IVF treatment in the NHS is welcome as it enables those
who can't afford private treatment to obtain help with fertility.  But there
will be a price to pay.

 "There is not enough money to provide free IVF for everyone without
probable cuts elsewhere in NHS services.

 "NICE must be allowed to choose its own priorities based on clinical need
instead of the current system whereby the Government chooses the areas that
NICE will look into based on its own political reasons. 

 "We need to see guidelines issued on clinical priority rather than
Government dictat.  Other key areas like chronic lung disease could miss
out."

 ENDS

 

Uit he Britse zondagsblad THE OBSERVER:

 

IVF free-for-all may cost £400m 

Jo Revill, health editor
Sunday August 10, 2003

 

Proposals to allow thousands of couples free fertility treatment on the NHS
were the subject of a growing political row last night, amid concern about
how the extra treatments would be funded. 

According to draft guidance produced by a government health watchdog, the
National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), thousands of infertile
women under 40 should be offered up to six free cycles of IVF treatment. 

The Nice guidelines will not be finalised until next February and could be
altered before then, but the initial recommendation sparked anger from
Conservatives. Tory health spokesman Liam Fox said: 'It is absurd that we
have an unelected body like Nice making a huge decision like this, without
having to take any responsibility for how it will be paid for. This will
have big cost implications for hospitals and inevitably take money away from
other budgets . 

'Treatment should be decided on a patient by patient basis, by the clinician
who is best placed to assess their individual needs. The idea that you can
slap a blanket decision by Whitehall across the whole of the NHS is
symptomatic of the problems we are facing.' 

Under the guidelines, which will soon go out for wide consultation across
the country, couples having problems conceiving would have to meet strict
criteria before becoming eligible for NHS treatment. First, they must have
tried for at least a year to conceive. They would then have to undergo
investigations to identify the cause of infertility. This would mean at
least 20 per cent of couples, in whom the cause cannot be discovered, would
be disqualified from treatment. 

The British Fertility Society, which represents staff working in the
clinics, welcomed the draft guidance. Professor Alison Murdoch, the
society's chair, said: 'We believe it is important to eliminate the current
"postcode prescribing" of fertility treatment. If the main provisions in the
draft are retained in the final guidance, then this could increase patient
access to NHS fertility treatment. We would regard this as a very positive
step for infertile patients and couples.' 

Labour sources were non-committal about the subject last night, particularly
on how it might be funded. If all existing fertility patients came into the
NHS for treatment the bill would amount to around £400 million a year. One
source said: 'The final ruling [from Nice] may not be the same as this draft
guidance. There's no reason why cancer budgets should be affected. Cancer is
a priority in the Government's NHS Plan, and we aren't going to move away
from that.' 

At present, there are 27,000 attempts at IVF treatment in Britain each year,
with couples paying around £3,000 a time to clinics across the country. Only
one in five of these is funded by the NHS. 

Around one in six couples has problems conceiving, and the numbers are
growing as women delay motherhood into their late thirties, usually for
career reasons. Recent research has also shown that the quality of sperm
begins to decline after 45. 

According to the draft guidance, the best chances of pregnancy are provided
if clinics offer three attempts with fresh embryos, and three with frozen
embryos. At each treatment the chance of success stands at around 23 per
cent, but this is improving slightly each year and varies between clinics. 

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health stressed that this was only draft
guidance, and that it would have to wait for the final recommendations
before commenting. 

Uit de Britse kwaliteitskrant THE INDEPENDENT:



Fertility treatment on the NHS to be expanded


By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor


26 August 2003 

A big expansion in IVF for infertile couples on the NHS is promised in new
guidelines to be published today designed to end the "postcode lottery" for
treatment.

Only one in five attempts at in vitro fertilisation is currently funded by
the NHS but recommendations from the National Institute for Clinical
Excellence will say that couples should be entitled to up to three cycles of
treatment using fresh embryos on the NHS.

Treatment is recommended for women up to the age of 40 where the cause of
their infertility is known and IVF is deemed appropriate, or where they have
tried to conceive for at least three years without success. Excess embryos
produced during treatment may be frozen and used in subsequent attempts, it
will say.

The draft guidelines, which will be posted on the institute's website, are
being published for consultation before final guidelines are issued next
February. An earlier draft, circulated privately to interested parties, was
leaked to the press last month.

The proposals are likely to increase the financial pressure on the NHS to
the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds a year. One in six couples is
estimated to be infertile and there are 27,000 attempts at IVF each year.
The average cost of each attempt is £2,500 privately, but free treatment
could see demand soar.

Critics say the expenditure cannot be justified if it means taking funds
from other parts of the NHS, such as cancer services. They say there is no
"right " to have children and diagnosing and treating injury and disease
should be the priority for the NHS.

Sheena Young, of the national infertility support group Child, countered: "I
would not dream of saying infertility is in the same league as cancer. But
it is definitely an illness and it should be treated and funded like any
other illness."

Professor Alison Murdoch, who chairs the British Fertility Society, said:
"We are delighted there is now official recognition that the trauma suffered
by couples unable to conceive is a legitimate call on NHS resources.

"Hopefully, the guidelines will now see an end to postcode prescribing
caused by facilities which are wide ranging across the country." 

 

 

Bernard Aris

 


************************************************************************
Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
www.tweedekamer.nl

Aan dit bericht kunnen geen rechten worden ontleend.
Dit elektronisch bericht is uitsluitend bestemd voor de geadresseerde.
Als u dit bericht per abuis hebt ontvangen, wordt u verzocht het te
vernietigen en de afzender te informeren.
Wij adviseren u om bij twijfel over de juistheid of de volledigheid van
dit bericht contact op te nemen met afzender.

No rights can be derived from this message.
This electronic message is intended only for the addressee.
Should you have received this message in error, you are kindly
requested to delete it and inform the sender.
Should you question the accuracy or the completeness of this
message, you are advised to contact the sender.
************************************************************************

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********