Drop in vasectomies put down to relationship fears

THE number of vasectomies carried out by NHS hospitals and clinics has dropped by nearly two-thirds in a decade, official figures show.

Experts said the trend could reflect social shifts, with greater awareness that relationships might not last, and a reluctance to take steps seen as irreversible.

The new data from NHS Digital shows 29,344 vasectomies took place in hospitals and sexual health clinics in 2005-06, falling to 10,880 in 2015-16. Sexual health experts said men were increasingly waiting until they are older to start families, or avoiding the procedure in case relationships failed and they wanted to have more children later in life.

A spokesman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said: “The fall in vasectomies may reflect the fact that there are more GP practices offering men this service which are not captured in the statistics.

“However, some men may be finding it harder to access the procedure … but the decline may also reflect social shifts – couples are waiting longer to start and complete their families, and there may also be greater awareness that relationships can fail and that vasectomy is generally an irreversible choice.”

NHS funding for vasectomies, said to be 99 per cent effective, has also been restricted in some areas, as part of efforts to reduce spending.

Natika Halil, chief executive of the Family Planning Association (FPA), said: “Some commissioners in England, in areas including Essex, are now no longer offering vasectomies on the NHS, which means men may have to pay up around £500 for a private procedure.

She said “dramatic” cuts in public health budgets had exacerbated the problem, with an £800million reduction in six years.

The figures show that overall, 1.19 million people had contact with sexual reproductive health services in hospitals and clinics in 2015-16, compared to 2.48million a decade before.