Included within the website are a number
of 'Information leaflets' similar to those provided by us to couples undergoing
treatment. These may change at short notice, should not be taken as definitive,
and for the latest information please contact the clinic directly. The
Investigations Sheets may be particularly helpful for GP's considering which
investigations to perform prior to referral.
Some of the medical advice and other
information may not be applicable to patients or couples who are not resident
in the UK or patients of the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine.
NHS PROVISION IN THE DEVON/CORNWALL PENINSULA:
During 2005 new funding arrangements were made for residents of
Devon & Cornwall for fertility investigations and treatments as a
consequence of guidelines produced by the National Institute of Clinical
Excellence (NICE).
Couples may be referred for investigations and/or treatment by
their General Practitioners to NHS consultants collaborating in a Peninsular
Fertility Network to ensure a consistent approach in Barnstaple, Exeter,
Torbay, Plymouth and Truro Hospitals.
After initial investigations and treatments as appropriate couples
requiring more advanced assisted conception procedures involving the use of
injections and monitoring to stimulate ovulation, donor sperm, intrauterine
insemination (IUI) and/or in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) may be eligible for
NHS-funded treatment. Some of these treatments were not previously available
locally on the NHS or only to a very limited degree. At present and due to
limited funding some criteria are applied, however, which are that up to four
treatments of IUI and/or one treatment cycle of IVF may be funded when
·
the chance of success is considered to
be greater than 10%;
·
the woman’s age is less than 40 at the
time of insemination/egg collection;
·
the woman is a non-smoker and her
partner advised to quit as appropriate;
·
neither the man nor the woman has
previously been sterilized;
·
priority with funding is currently being
given to couples where neither the man nor the woman has any living children;
·
the woman’s body mass index (BMI = her
weight measured in kilograms divided twice by her height measured in metres) is
less than 30;
·
the man and woman are committed to
bringing up a child born from treatment as its legal parents and there are no
significant concerns about its welfare (e.g. history of violence, abuse or
psychiatric problems).
Patients may make representations or
appeals about the criteria to the chairmen of their local Primary Care Trust.
......Pre-consultation Pack
Information Leaflets