IVF protestors confront health chief (From Oxford Mail)

IVF protestors confront health chief

7:28pm Thursday 14th May 2009

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FERTILITY campaigners last night staged a protest at Oxfordshire PCT headquarters after suffering a blow to their campaign to get IVF on the NHS.

Richard Mackenzie, who is leading a group claiming they are being discriminated against for IVF funding because of their age, arrived at the trust’s offices yesterday to confront chief executive, Andrea Young.

Mr Mackenzie, 29, and his 26-year-old fiancée, both from Witney, have been trying to have a baby for six years and have been told IVF is their only chance of conceiving.

But despite guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which states free treatment should be given to women aged between 23 and 39, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust will only fund IVF treatment for couples aged between 35 and 38.

Mr Mackenzie had been at a meeting of the Oxfordshire joint health overview and scrutiny committee at County Hall seeking backing to press the PCT to follow NICE guidelines.

After that was turned down, Mr Mackenzie went to the PCT headquarters in Cowley, where he was joined by fellow campaigner, Lee Fowler, 29, from Banbury, to ask Ms Young why she would not fund their treatment.

They stayed inside the PCT offices for about 10 minutes before being asked to leave.

They then staged a sit down protest outside the front door of the PCT as they waited for Ms Young, who offered to meet Mr Fowler another time.

There was then an exchange between Mr McKenzie and Ms Young before the chief executive drove off.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire PCT said: “We have spoken with Mr Mackenzie and Mr Fowler and offered them both the chance to meet with the chief executive or a member of the priorities forum.

“It would be inappropriate to discuss individual cases in the reception area.”

At the meeting, Mr Mackenzie and councillor David Robertson were told the PCT was already considering lowering the age bracket to between 30 and 34 in line with a proposed policy change across all nine PCTs in the whole South Central region, the strategic health authority which Oxfordshire falls under.

But Dr Ljuba Stirzaker, Oxfordshire PCT’s consultant in public health medicine, said to provide this service for all women between the ages of 23 and 39 would cost in the region of £2 to £3m.

She added: “We have to make extremely difficult and uncomfortable decisions.

“Do we need give a few extra months of life to someone who is terminally ill, or do we give someone a child for life?

She added: “NICE issue guidelines, but they aren’t compulsory.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Mackenzie said he was unhappy with the way the the committee had discussed the matter.

He added: “It was all a bit jovial. Infertility isn’t a lifestyle choice, we haven’t done anything wrong.

“I’m getting quite emotional now, and while I was in there, because I feel like I’m being told I’m not good enough to be a father. This is destroying us.”

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk

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