Cambridgeshire MPs call on NHS boss to reinstate IVF

IVF stopped being available free on the NHS in Cambridgeshire in September 2017

All seven MPs from one county have written to a health boss asking her to bring back IVF services.

The politicians want Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to reinstate the treatment after it was withdrawn in 2017.

The county is where the procedure was pioneered in the 70s.

The CCG said anyone with fertility problems can go to their GP and can be referred to hospital for "further tests".

The letter to Jan Thomas, accountable officer for the CCG, said: "Currently, the CCG is one of only three in the country that fails to offer any fertility support on the NHS.

"Our constituents are being denied access to fertility services, which we believe to be an unacceptable situation."

It said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines stating that "women under the age of 40 who suffer from infertility should have access to three NHS cycles of fertility treatment".

It added: "Last year, a health minister wrote to remind you that 'CCGs have a statutory responsibility to commission healthcare services that meet the needs of their whole population, including fertility services'."

The letter was signed by Conservatives, Paul Bristow, Stephen Barclay, Anthony Browne, Jonathan Djanogly, Lucy Frazer, Shailesh Vara and Labour's Daniel Zeichner.

Amber Izzo, and husband Marco, from Peterborough, have been trying for a baby for six years.

She said they were not entitled to free IVF and would have spent about £20,000 on treatment, describing the financial strain as "just horrible".

"It is just abysmal it is based on where you live," she said.

The CCG said: "Anyone with fertility problems can still go to their GP who can discuss the treatment options available to them.

"Couples can still be referred to hospital for further tests to investigate the cause of their infertility, and many of these causes can be successfully treated without the need to go on to have IVF."

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