IVF treatment on NHS slow to resume after green light to reopen

TWO thirds of NHS IVF clinics stayed closed during lockdown even after they were given the green light to open, a report from the regulator has found.

NHS fertility services were slower to reopen as the overall health service came under strain because of Covid, and Nhsfunded treatment has lagged behind those cycles funded privately. The study, from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), noted fertility treatments were suspended throughout the UK on April 15 2020 after the country went into lockdown.

The next month, clinics could reopen if they could show they were Covid safe, with private fertility clinics moving to reopen faster than NHS clinics. Some 83 per cent of private and 34 per cent of NHS clinics were approved to resume service by May 15 2020. Many private clinics also treat NHS patients.

By November 2020, nearly all private and NHS clinics had approval to reopen.

However, the report shows the share of IVF treatments that were Nhsfunded – whether they occurred in the NHS or at private clinics – fell seven percentage points from 35 per cent in 2019 to 28 per cent in 2020.

Privately funded IVF cycles exceeded 2019 levels in July 2020, whereas Nhsfunded IVF cycles had yet to reach 2019 levels by June last year, the report said.

“The decrease in Nhs-funded IVF cycles can be explained in part by the greater impact of the pandemic on the NHS as a whole, and the slower return of NHS clinics following treatment suspensions,” the HFEA report said. “In addition, many patients require further investigations or surgeries within the NHS where they may be experiencing higher waiting times.”

The HFEA said the registration of new egg donors fell by 23 per cent from 2019 to 2020, whereas sperm donors decreased by 14 per cent. The report found some patients struggled to speak to GPS before starting fertility treatment, with higher proportions of people from black, Asian and other ethnicity backgrounds reporting that this was the case.

Julia Chain, the HFEA chairman, said it expected waiting times for tests or surgery – which can delay IVF – to remain high for at least 12 to 24 months.