NHS-funded IVF reinstated in Cambridgeshire

Funding has been reinstated to offer IVF treatment on the NHS in the county where the procedure was pioneered.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) scrapped free fertility treatment in 2017 to save money.

One cycle of IVF with up to three implantations of embryos will be now be provided on the NHS in the county.

Jan Thomas from the CCG said she hoped the decision was "welcome news" for those in need of the service.

IVF was pioneered in Cambridgeshire in the 1970s but in 2017 the CCG paused funding for the treatment.

The CCG said it was one of the most financially challenged health systems in the country at the time.

The decision was reviewed in 2019 but funding was not reintroduced. 

In November, the county's MPs - six Tory and one Labour - wrote to Ms Thomas directly asking her to bring back IVF services on the NHS.

"Our constituents are being denied access to fertility services, which we believe to be an unacceptable situation," the letter said.

It said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines stating that "women under the age of 40 who suffer from infertility should have access to three NHS cycles of fertility treatment".

A CCG report said its financial position had "not improved" since the 2019 review but "the growing inequality of provision" had "strengthened the argument" to reinstate provision of IVF services.

"We are pleased to have taken the decision to reinstate NHS-funded IVF in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough," Ms Thomas said.

"We hope this decision is welcome news for all of those people who find themselves in need of this service, and those who advocated for its reinstatement."

The world's first IVF clinic, Bourn Hall near Cambridge, said the treatment was "coming home". 

Dr Mike Macnamee, chief executive of Bourn Hall, said he was "delighted" by the decision.

"We look forward to welcoming NHS patients from Cambridgeshire back to our clinic," he said.

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