§ Mr. CouchmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice West Kent health authority has sought from her Department in respect of the most efficacious provision of infertility diagnosis and treatment; [19531]
(2) what contacts her Department has had with West Kent health authority in respect of infertility treatment and investigation in the United Kingdom. [19530]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe provision of infertility diagnosis and treatment locally is a matter for West Kent health authority. Guidance on infertility services has been provided by the Department of Health. As far as we are aware West Kent health authority has not sought any additional advice from the Department.
§ Mr. CouchmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of one infertility treatment against another; [19533]
(2) what recent assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of provision of infertility treatments and investigation in the United Kingdom. [19532]
§ Mr. SackvilleAdvice on the effectiveness of infertility treatments in England is available to health authorities and clinicians in two publications drawn to the attention of the national health service in 1992:
- (a) The effective health care bulletin, Management of Subfertility, published for the NHS Management Executive by a consortium of Leeds and York Universities and the Research Unit of the Royal College of Physicians.
114 - (b) The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists publication Infertility—Guidelines for Practice.
Copies of these documents are available in the Library.
Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health which bodies funded by her Department have undertaken studies into the effectiveness of infertility treatment; and on what dates the studies were undertaken. [19480]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe effective health care bulletin The Management of Subfertility contains a comprehensive list of references to published research papers, including those concerning the effectiveness of various infertility treatments. The bulletin was published for the national health service executive by a consortium of York and Leeds universities and the research unit of the Royal College of Physicians and was made available to health authorities and clinicians in 1992.
§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice Sunderland health authority has sought from her Department in respect of the most efficacious provision of infertility treatment and diagnosis in the last five years; [19479]
(2) what contacts her Department has had with Sunderland health authority in respect of infertility treatment and investigation in the United Kingdom in the last five years. [19478]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe provision of infertility diagnosis and treatment locally is a matter for Sunderland district health authority. Guidance on infertility services has been provided by the Department of Health. As far as we are aware, the health authority has not sought additional advice from the Department.