NHS waiting lists ‘harming’ women’s chances of successful IVF

RECORD NHS waiting lists are harming the chances of women hoping to have a child through IVF, the head of the UK’S fertility organisation has said.

Julia Chain, chairman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has said that patients are facing delays receiving diagnoses and treatments for health issues that are preventing them starting IVF.

Moving quickly is essential in fertility treatment, with a woman’s chances of successful IVF dropping from about a third if under 35 to less than a fifth if 38 or 39 years old. “With NHS waiting lists growing ever longer, many patients who might require interventions before they can start [fertility] treatment might be hugely disadvantaged if they have a long wait,” Ms Chain said at the Progress Educational Trust (PET) annual conference, The Observer reports.

“It means they’re older when they start fertility treatment. The chance of a successful birth decreases with a woman’s age, so time really is of the essence.”

There is a risk that non-life threatening gynaecological tests and procedures, such as the surgical removal of fibroids from the womb, can be put “on the back burner” as there is no immediate risk to life, she added.

However, delays to treatment mean prospective parents have to wait longer before they can start IVF, with the odds of success dwindling.

“Fertility treatments may not be ‘urgent’ in the official language of the health service but, as far as patients are concerned, such treatments are a matter of considerable urgency,” said Sarah Norcross, director of PET.

Data show there are more than half a million people on NHS waiting lists for gynaecology services, with an average wait of more than three months.

More than 37,000 women have been waiting longer than a year, almost 4,000 patients more than 18 months and 49 people for more than two years.

An NHS spokesman said: “NHS staff are working to bring down Covid backlogs, [with] record levels of pressure.

“The latest data show the waiting list went down for the first time since the start of the pandemic, so it’s vital women continue to come forward for care when they need it.”