Please complete online survey before 8 April 2018 to oppose these cuts

All of Lancashire and South Cumbria’s 8 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are consulting on plans to cuts NHS IVF provision from 2 full IVF cycles to 1 full IVF cycle. The deadline to respond to the public survey on this is 6 April 2018.

The survey can be found at https://www.elesurvey.co.uk/f/614854/e6e2/

The 8 CCGs are:

Chorley and South Ribble

Morecambe Bay

Blackburn with Darwen

Fylde & Wyre

Blackpool

East Lancashire

West Lancashire

Greater Preston

If the proposal goes ahead, clinically eligible women between 18-42 will only be able to access 1 full NHS IVF cycle rather than the nationally recommended 3 full NHS IVF cycles. In addition, couples with children from previous relationships will not be able to access NHS IVF.

The CCGs are also proposing to broaden access to include single women with a diagnosis of infertility.

More information on the proposed policy is available:

http://eastlancsccg.nhs.uk/get-involved/current-engagement/policy-harmonisation/lancashire-wide-review-and-harmonisation-of-clinical-policies/assisted-conception-services

Only a strong patient voice will influence these decisions.

Get your friends and family to respond, the more responses the better.

For further information on national funding and support, please go to : www.fertilitynetworkuk.org

8 Lancashire CCGs re-consult on cutting NHS IVF

Greater Manchester CCG Eligibility Criteria

At the end of 2017, all the Greater Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) agreed to adopt modified eligibility criteria for access to IVF treatment.

What was clear is that they still have not agreed on funding the same numbers of cycles, so we are still left with the postcode lottery! The definition of how abandoned/cancelled cycles has also been clarified and may count towards cycles funded.

They have also changed the upper limit of the BMI requirements for the female partner.

With immediate effect they have reduced the upper BMI to 29. This is for GM patients only. Most other CCGs outside of GM have an upper limit of 30. This is decided by the CCGs, who are run by your GPs. They are not run or influenced by the hospitals. Any concerns about these changes should be directed to your GP and local CCG. Unfortunately, this may put extra pressure on those of you who are working really hard to get your weight down so that you can start treatment.

We will try to advise and support you wherever we can on this difficult journey.

Newslet ter

20th March 2018

Issue 2

Inside this issue:

Intrauterine insemination

2

Slow release insemination

2

Acupuncture 2

Research 3

Keep you cervical smears up to date

3

Inside Story 4

We have been offering intrauterine insemination (IUI) for as long as there has been a fertility service. Unfortunately, because of poor quality data, an inaccurate assessment was made as to the validity of IUI as a fertility treatment by NICE, leading to reductions in NHS funding and interest in supporting its use.

Although, not suitable for all couples, There are many for whom it offers a cheaper, patient friendly and less invasive treatment alternative. IUI is very widely used in the rest of the world, particularly in Europe, especially in the Netherlands, and remains a highly regarded fertility treatment option by many

fertility specialists.

Evidence suggests it is of greatest value in couples with mild male factor infertility, as well as unexplained infertility or where there may be a cervical factor.

Being a much simpler treatment, the pregnancy rates are going to be lower than when compared with IVF treatment. Currently, at 12-14% per cycle, our pregnancy rates are higher than the national average.

We are able to offer intrauterine insemination to suitable couples. We even have a discounted three cycle IUI package, and are the first unit in the UK to be able to offer the

EVIE Slow Release Insemination pump, which has been shown to double the pregnancy rate in women under35 years of age.

Please contact a member of staff if you want further information.

Optimizing your preparation for fertility treatment is an essential part of your journey and may improve your chance of a successful

pregnancy

There is growing evidence that supporting your fertility care with appropriate acupuncture treatment may offer you a

greater opportunity for success.

We provide fertility acupuncture support for couples having treatment at Fertility Fusion. Experienced, professionally qualified acupuncturists work closely with the clinical team, using techniques that have been shown in trials to improve treatment outcomes.

Appointments are available at their treatment rooms close to your post code area and convenient for your diary.

For further information please ask any member of staff for the leaflet detailing the support packages available. And more importantly contact details to arrange a consultation.

Int rauter ine Inseminat ion

Acupuncture

The Evie (Slow Release Inseminat ion) Pump

If Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is a suitable treatment for a patient, there is an exciting alternative treatment called EVIE. EVIE is a slow release insemination (SRI) method. In clinical trials SRI more than doubles the pregnancy success

rate compared to standard IUI (in the under 35 category), whilst retaining all the advantages of a low cost, less invasive, first line treatment option (compared to more complex procedures such as IVF).

EVIE is a small, mechanical pump that slowly delivers prepared sperm into the uterus over a period of four hours. EVIE is worn on the

thigh for the duration of the treatment allowing the patient to perform light activities, or rest if they prefer.

We are one of the very first fertility centres to be able to make the EVIE available for our patients.

There is an additional cost of £250 to have the EVIE pump as part of an IUI treatment.

Page 2

Since we moved from Leigh to our purpose built fertility unit here at Wrightington almost three years ago, we have embraced the opportunities of developing our involvement in reproductive research.

In fact in December 2016, we won the Greater Manchester Clinical research network ’Best Debut’ award for our research contributions.

Clinical research can be particularly exciting as it may present alternative

treatment options that are currently unavailable . This may not only be of benefit to the participants, but to treatment programmes and couples in the future. Currently, we are successfully recruiting to the national E-Scratch trial. Due to the success of recruitment this study is likely to close in the summer.

It will then take some time for all results to be collated, including outcomes before the results will be made available and published.

For couples undergoing intrauterine insemination we are recruiting to our own endometrial scratch study. We are always looking out for suitable fertility studies that we can participate in, as well as developing our own projects.

Being well supported by the Trust’s Clinical research team we will aim to identify suitable couples, although studies often have strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. So do let us know if you think you may have been missed out.

Research

The importance of up to date Cervical smears

We will always ask for evidence of last cervical smear, especially in the over 25s as well as enquiring about whether there has been any previous treatment for abnormal smears.

There is a good reason for this, apart from ensuring that women are participating in the nationally available health screening and reducing the risk of cervical cancer.

There is increasing evidence that success rates for fertility treatment can be reduced if there is an untreated cervical abnormality. Abnormal smears are linked to infection by the HPV or human papilloma virus; which is sexually transmitted, and if present the success rate of IUI treatment is reduced six-fold and such couples might be

better having IVF. Hence the importance of up to date screening.

So please make sure your smears are up to date. Not only can it save your life, it may also improve your chances of getting pregnant!

If you are unsure about when your last smear was taken, please contact your GP.

“Not only can it save your life, having a normal smear may also improve your chances of getting pregnant!”

Page 3

“Active involvement in Research has been demonstrated to improve treatment outcomes’”

Fertility Fusion

Wrightington Hospital

Appley Bridge

Wigan

WN6 9EP

Caption describing pic-ture or graphic.

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