Cancerbackup: Fertility services access is patchy
Monday, 14 Jan 2008 13:03
Access to fertility for cancer patients is patchy across the country, Cancerbackup has warned.
A survey or primary care trusts (PCTs) conducted by the charity found that in many areas guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) is not being implemented.
Nice guidance recommends that sperm, embryo and egg storage should be offered where clinically appropriate, but the Cancerbackup survey found a postcode lottery in this provision.
The eastern England region was shown to provide the best level of service, whereas many of the PCTs that responded in the south-west did not commission a lot of the services recommended by Nice.
The charity's survey was released on the same day as a report from the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Radiologists and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which called for a national policy on sperm, egg and embryo storage and for funding bodies to develop equitable funding protocols for patients.
Cancerbackup chief executive Joanne Rule said it is "unacceptable" that access to services depends on where patients live.
"Some PCTs are denying patients the option to preserve their fertility, as they are not commissioning vital services," she added.
"Cancerbackup's helpline receives many calls from patients and their partners worried about their ability to have children after cancer.
"All cancer patients should be informed of the potential impact of cancer treatment on their fertility before treatment starts. And in cases where it is clinically appropriate they should be given access to fertility services, regardless of where they live."
