Free fertility treatment slashed from three rounds to one to save money

Rochdale health officials have agreed to drastically cut back free fertility treatment, despite the results of a public consultation showing overwhelming opposition to the proposals.

The number of IVF cycles available on the NHS to childless couples and individuals has been reduced from three to one with immediate effect.

The change will take immediate effect but will not affect any patients who have already been referred to an IVF service (including those who are waiting but have not yet been seen) and patients on any other part of the IVF pathway, including tests for subfertility.

The Integrated Commissioning Board members voted to scale back access to the treatment as part of plans to close an estimated £12m budget black hole.

The move will achieve savings of nearly £260,000 per year to Rochdale Council and Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group’s (HMR CCG) pooled fund.

But it is likely to prove controversial given 92 per cent of those who responded to a six-week consultation said they were opposed to the proposal.

However, those with certain medical conditions – such as polycystic ovary syndrome – could have their cases considered through an ‘individual funding request’ due to concerns they could be unfairly disadvantaged.

Denise Dawson, an HMR CCG lay member for patient and public engagement, asked for reassurances pursuing such a request would be assessed quickly.

She said: “The concern is that process is already heavily used, how can we ensure that we don’t delay that. We will have individuals coming through at the later stages of being at the right age for IVF, how can we ensure we turn this around quickly for them?”

Officers said there was work still to be done around resources that could only begin once the decision was made.

The move means Rochdale now joins Oldham – the birthplace of IVF – Bolton, Manchester, Bury and Trafford in offering just one round of fertility treatment.

Campaigners against these cuts to IVF treatment say infertility can deeply affect people’s mental health, causing depression, suicidal feelings and relationship breakdowns.

And director of public health Andrea Fallon spoke about the potential consequences for those denied a second round of IVF under the new arrangement – and the possible impact on other services.

She said: “We need to monitor and see there are more referrals from GPs picking up people who have psychology implications, that could inadvertently create greater demand in the psychology for us that we also can’t manage.

“I think it’s something we’ll want to monitor the impact of.”

Committee member Dr Bodrul Alam said he had initially been taken aback by the result of the consultation.

‘But, ‘on reflection’ felt it was inevitable that most who chose to engage with the consultation would be against a reduction in IVF cycles.

He said: “When you look at the data and are breaking it down, a significant proportion of 30 and 40-year-old females are wanting the IVF.

“I think the question we have to ask is, if we had a similar consultation and said ‘should we have total knee-joint replacements’, the likelihood would be – if you looked at the data –  those in their 20s and 30s would say ‘no’ because it doesn’t impact on them, while those in their 60s and 70s would  likely say ‘yes, absolutely I would.”

Dr Alam added: “The other thing to think about is if doesn’t affect anybody at all, what’s the likelihood of them engaging with the consultation process.

“For example, somebody with four children, would they take part in it? If you look at the demographics of the population of those that have taken part in it here’s some reference to that in terms of the analogy.”

Ms Fallon agreed there would be ‘responder bias’ within the consultation and the committee should not be ‘too worried or concerned’.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter