Decision on IVF funding criteria due mid-November

Campaigners have called for IVF funding criteria to be widened

Jersey's government said it would decide if changes were needed for its criteria for IVF funding in mid-November.

It followed figures that showed 10% of the £620,000 budget for the fertility treatment had been spend by the Health and Care Jersey (HCJ) by July.

The fertility charity Tiny Seeds criticised the spend and said it proved it was too hard for couples to be eligible for support and called for the criteria to be reviewed sooner rather than later.

But Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Andy Howell said the underspend was "anticipated" because "we knew it would take some time for eligible couples to start the IVF process".

Howell said the health department had recently signed a contract with the Lister Clinic in London so couples were waiting for treatment to begin there as well.

She added: "We will be monitoring the impact on the budget until the end of October and will determine by mid-November what changes, if any, should be made to the current criteria for accessing HCJ-funded IVF."

Speaking to BBC Jersey in July, the founder of Tiny Seeds, Chloe Fosse, said there should not be a wait to review the criteria.

Ms Fosse said: "It must be really heartbreaking and frustrating to see those figures released for those people that actually are self-funding their treatment."