HC Deb 02 May 2000 vol 349 cc10-1
5. Mr. Bob Russell (Colchester)

What steps he is taking to ensure that IVF treatment is available throughout the country. [119058]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Yvette Cooper)

The decision to provide specialised infertility treatment is one for individual health authorities. This decision should be taken in the light of local needs, available resources and clinical effectiveness.

The Government are continuing to consider ways of providing fairer access to infertility services while ensuring that resources are not diverted from the key priorities of cancer, coronary heart disease and mental health.

Mr. Russell

With that answer the Minister confirms that postcoding exists when it comes to this form of treatment. Does she agree that that is unfair on a couple in my constituency—hence my question—who are being deprived of the service, whereas if they lived in another part of the country, it would be available to them? Surely the Government should insist on fairness throughout the country. We must end postcoding.

Yvette Cooper

We are very concerned about the postcode lottery in care, which is a legacy from the previous Government. The internal market perpetuated a postcode lottery and a money lottery. We are taking action to tackle the postcode lottery, including setting up the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the Commission for Health Improvement and referring important cancer drugs to NICE. We shall build on this in future. We shall publish shortly a survey of IVF provision throughout the country to inform local decision making.