Infertility (Hansard, 12 December 1989)

§ 10. Mrs. Mahon
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities provide infertility investigations and treatment.

§ 17. Mr. McKelvey
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities provide infertility investigations and treatment.

§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
The investigation and treatment of infertility is part of the normal practice of gynaecology and is therefore available throughout the country.

§ Mrs. Mahon
Will not indicative drugs budgets and GP practice budgets deter GPs from sending women for infertility treatment and from taking on women who are already receiving expensive infertility treatment? Will that not add to a very human tragedy for many couples?

§ Mrs. Bottomley
The introduction of prescribing budgets is a sensible way of containing the costs of prescribing and ensuring that prescribing practices continue to develop. Dramatic advances have been made in infertility treatment. Many of the treatments are very costly and are available in increasing numbers of centres throughout the country. We see no reason to believe that it will not be possible for women to continue to benefit from those remarkable new initiatives.

§ Mr. John Marshall
When dealing with matters of fertility and infertility, will my hon. Friend remind consultants of the fertility of the imagination of the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook)?

§ Mrs. Bottomley
Yes, Sir.

§ Ms. Harman
Does not the Minister's earlier answer show that she is unaware that Lady Warnock described provision of fertility services within the National Health Service as "haphazard and unsatisfactory"? Is it not unacceptable that whether a childless couple can have the child that they long for depends on where they live and how much money they have? When will the Government act on the Warnock proposal, which does not need legislation, to improve fertility services throughout the National Health Service?

§ Mrs. Bottomley
Since the Labour party was in Government, there has been an increase from 661 to 746 in obstetrics and gynaecology consultants, who provide better and higher quality services. The local district health authority must decide the priorities of various services. The district health authority in the constituency of the hon. Member for Halifax (Mrs. Mahon) has chosen to have a new hospital costing £21 million and has increased day cases by 25 per cent. and in-patients by 10 per cent. It is clear that choices must be made in the Health Service, but there is much greater provision for infertility treatment of all kinds throughout the country.