IVF treatment in Scotland found to be a ‘postcode lottery’

October 25, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

IVF treatment in Scotland could be had in as little as six months or as long as three years prompting some to ask for more consistency within the system.

A recent freedom of information request made by the Scottish Labour party discovered a huge disparity in wait times between IVF clinics in Scotland. Dumbarton MSP, Jackie Baillie, contacted all of Scotland’s health boards after being prompted by a constituent about IVF wait times.

She found that some of the worst wait times were to be found in NHS Lothian, where prospective mothers might have to wait as long as three years for IVF treatment. NHS Borders had the lowest wait times with no waiting lists and a promise of treatment within six months of referral.

“The Scottish Government must take action to end the postcode lottery for IVF treatment,” said Ms. Baillie. “It is unfair that patients in some parts of Scotland have to wait three years for treatment when others are treated in less than 12 months.”

“There is also no consistency in the rules,” she added. “NHS Borders will fund patients for treatment in neighboring areas if they have shorter waiting lists, but other Health Boards refuse to consider such a sensible step.”

As the director of strategic planning and modernization at NHS Lothian, Jackie Sansbury said that that NHS Lothian follows the guidelines set by the Scottish government for the provision if fertility services.

“In Lothian, unlike many other health boards, couples are offered three cycles of IVF,” Sansbury told the BBC. “We are working with the Scottish Government and infertility services to establish a common pattern of provision across the country.”

“As part of a review of our fertility services we are investing an additional £180,000 to increase the number of IVF cycles we are able to offer by around 40 percent during 2009-2010.”

Shona Robison, the public health minister of Scotland said that she is aware of the level of demand for IVF and that work is being done “to make access as fair as possible.”

“We are funding Infertility Network Scotland—an organization of past and present patients—to work with boards to ensure fairer access. Together they will consider the best ways to address waiting times and local differences in access to treatment,” she said.

“We’re also setting up the Expert Group on Infertility to make recommendations on issues including waiting times. Within six months I expect them to submit an interim report to me and I expect to see quick progress on the ground too.”