Dame Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, has welcomed National Fertility Awareness Week from 31 October 31 – 4 November.
The awareness week, organised by Fertility Network UK, aims to promote advice, support and information surrounding fertility treatment. Currently, 3.5 million people in the UK face fertility issues.
Whilst In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is available on the NHS, funding for treatment is at the discretion of localised Integrated Care Boards (ICB), the successor to Clinical Commissioning Groups. The result of this is an inequality of access to IVF treatment across the country, but particularly in Hampshire.
This is an issue that Caroline has long campaigned on. She has previously raised this issue in the chamber, and earlier this year met with the former Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid, to discuss the post-code lottery of access to IVF.
Caroline said:
“Fertility Awareness Week is an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of fertility issues. Fertility issues are not uncommon, with 3.5 million suffering, yet few people know of support networks and treatment available to them.
“I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of unequal access to IVF treatment. Whilst IVF is available on the NHS, it is not always fully funded by localised Integrated Care Boards. This leads us to the current situation of a postcode lottery of access to IVF.
“I will continue the campaign on this issue. Patients who need access to IVF treatment must not be disadvantaged purely due to their postcode.”
