In Vitro Fertilisation

(asked on 12th September 2017) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups comply fully with NICE recommendations on the commissioning of IVF.


Answered by
Philip Dunne Portrait
Philip Dunne
This question was answered on 18th September 2017

Since June 2017, 24 letters and emails about National Health Service in vitro fertilisation (IVF) provision have been received by the Department together with five Parliamentary Questions about NHS fertility services. I have also received a request to meet from the patient stakeholder organisation, Fertility Fairness, and intend to meet them later in the autumn.

Information about clinical commissioning groups (CCSs) that have fully implemented the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines is not collected centrally.

CCGs are responsible for commissioning local health services and ensuring the needs of the local health population are met. NHS England is responsible for oversight of the commissioning system. The NICE guidelines are evidence-based best practice for clinicians but are not mandatory.

The Government's policy is that CCGs should implement the NICE guidelines in full. This includes the NICE recommendation that three cycles of IVF is offered to qualifying couples where the woman is under the age of 40 and one cycle where the woman is between the ages of 40 and 42.

NHS England has advised that the IVF benchmark price will be developed during 2017/18 with support from the IVF Expert Advisory Group and all key stakeholders, working towards publishing the IVF benchmark price ready for the financial year 2018/19. It is also planning to develop and test an IVF outcome-based payment approach with a number of CCGs and service providers in 2018/19.

NHS England and professional and stakeholder groups, including the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, are working together to develop commissioning guidance. This guidance aims to improve the quality of commissioning and further encourage the implementation of the NICE fertility guidelines. NHS England has agreed to disseminate and promote the commissioning guidance to all CCGs in England.

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