Clinicians at North East Essex CCG are seeking local people’s views on their plans to restrict IVF services in the future – and they are inviting everyone to give their feedback. Under the plans, they are proposing restrictions to the current IVF service as it does not provide sufficient benefit to the overall health economy.
Certain groups of patients would still be able to access IVF: for instance, those patients who are undergoing medical treatment that would leave them infertile.
They also propose that couples experiencing difficulties in conceiving could still seek medical advice through their GP in the first instance.
Dr Hasan Chowhan, Clinical Director at the North East Essex CCG, said:
We recognise that infertility is a very difficult issue for those affected by it and we have not taken this proposal lightly or without engagement with other clinical professionals. We fully intend to review this decision in the near future.
Between 2013/14, the CCG paid for 107 fertility procedures which amounted to £386k – the equivalent of:
Samantha Hepplewhite, Acting Chief Officer at the North East Essex CCG, said:
We have managed to achieve around £35m savings over recent years. However this challenge will continue as we need to find a further £14m savings each year for the next four years.
We have a requirement to stay within budget and if we do not implement these decisions and further proposals then we would have to select other services to restrict. Current local demands for healthcare services are costing more money than is currently available.
In addition, the CCG is also intending to restrict the following services:
Please see our consultation document with further details at www.neessexccg.nhs.uk
The CCG is holding a number of engagement events over the coming weeks aimed allowing local people to find out more about its plans.
Date | Venue |
Friday 26 June (3pm) | Clacton – Sam’s Hall, CVST, Rosemary Road, Clacton CO15 1NZ |
Tuesday 7 July (6pm) | Colchester – Room 12a, Primary Care Centre, Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR |
Friday 10 July (2pm) | Clacton – Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton CO15 1SE |
Thursday 16 July (6.30pm) | Clacton – Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton CO15 1SE |
Please email to confirm your attendance at any of the above events –
The closing date for feedback on our IVF proposal is Monday 7 September 2015. If you have any feedback in relation to these changes, please email your comments to [email protected] or write to PALS, North East Essex CCG, Primary Care Centre, Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR.