Scots to get THREE rounds of IVF on the NHS

Thousands of couples in England are being denied access to fertility treatment that will soon be available in Scotland. ‘It is unacceptable for any clinical commissioning group not to follow Nice guidelines on fertility.’ Only 16 per cent of clinical commissioning groups in England offer the three IVF cycles recommended by the NHS. The number of clinical commissioning groups in England that offer three IVF cycles has dropped from 24 per cent in 2013 to 16 per cent this year. The number of clinical commissioning groups offering three IVF cycles in England has dropped from 24 per cent in 2013 to 16 per cent this year But with repeated attempts the odds of success increase – to 45 per cent of women who have two cycles and 54 per cent who have three cycles. The campaign group Fertility Fairness has urged the rest of the UK to follow the Scottish government's lead But she added: ‘In England the opposite is happening – 98 per cent of England’s clinical commissioning groups ration NHS IVF using unfair, arbitrary and non-medical criteria, such as postcode and whether one partner has a child from a previous relationship.’ Sarah Norcross, of the campaign group Fertility Fairness, urged ‘the rest of the UK to follow the Scottish government’s lead and take immediate action to stop the rationing of fertility treatment’.