Chamber and committees

It is for NHS boards to decide whether to reimburse eligible patients who have had infertility treatment abroad.

Whilst waiting times in NHS Fife are, at three years, the joint longest in Scotland, NHS Fife has advised it is are now actively working to bring this service into line with other NHS providers, and is working towards a maximum waiting time of 12 months.

National criteria were developed by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) in 2000. These guidelines were subsequently reviewed and in 2007 further recommendations were made to raise the upper age limit for treatment and updated information on timings between treatments.

All NHS boards in Scotland use these guidelines, but variations on the number of cycles and age of treatment do exist.

The National Infertility Group was set up in April 2010 to address the inequity of access to IVF treatment across Scotland and will submit its report – which will include updated access criteria - to ministers by the end of December 2012.

No discussions have taken place with the UK Government about the extent of so-called reproductive tourism across Europe.

Current guidance with NHS boards on the recommended number of IVF cycles was published in 2000 by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland. These guidelines, which remain extant, recommend that eligible patients receive a maximum of three NHS funded cycles of IVF. This includes two transfers of fresh embryos and, where frozen embryos are available, the third NHS funded cycle should involve transfer of stored embryos.

The National Infertility Group will make recommendations to ministers, including an update on the number, and definition, of IVF cycles for eligible patients, by the end of December 2012.

The National Infertility Group will make recommendations to ministers, including an update on eligibility criteria, by the end of December 2012.

The stakeholder group Infertility Network Scotland (INS) is a core member of the National Infertility Group, and officials in the Scottish Government have regular discussions and meetings with the charity.