WOMEN with fertility problems in Northern Ireland are travelling to the Czech Republic for cut-price treatment as NHS waiting lists hit an 18-month high, a charity has revealed.
The development comes a week after health chiefs unveiled £70m cost-cutting proposals that will severely impact on the Regional Fertility Centre, based at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast, resulting in no new free cycles being offered between October and next March.
Fertility Fairness last night described the move as 'short-sighted' and said it will hit an estimated 320 patients.
Only one free cycle of IVF is offered in the north compared with three full cycles in Scotland, two in Wales and two in some English trusts.
Sharon Davidson, Northern Ireland co-ordinator for patient charity Fertility Network UK, said she was aware that clinics in the Czech Republic - where IVF packages start at just under 2,000 euros compared with £3,560 in the north - are being used by some northern couples due to spiralling waiting lists.
"We would have concerns about governance arrangement in some overseas clinics and the consequences of too many embryos being implanted which could have risky consequences in terms of multiple births and need for neo-natal hospital cots at home," she said.
"For many couples, travelling abroad or seeking private treatment at home is not an option due to cost. They have this one chance on the NHS after being on a a waiting list for 18 months from their GP referral.
"It will be all the more devastating if this service is suspended for five months as a result of cuts - and even worse there is no guarantee it will return in April."
The charities warned that women struggling with 'the disease of infertility' can suffer significant mental health problems including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
Patients are more likely to contact their GPs, see their marriages break down and often find it difficult to hold down jobs.
She added: "Prompt access to NHS fertility services is crucial for patients to have the best possible chance of success."
As part of the proposed cutbacks imposed by the Department of Health, the north's five health trusts are also set to slash new home help packages, reduce the multi-million spend on agency doctors and nurses and increase current 'unacceptable' waiting lists even further.
Susan Seenan, co-chair of Fertility Fairness said: ‘‘Fertility Fairness is appalled at the proposal to defer NHS fertility treatment for five months for all new patients in Northern Ireland. This will cause unnecessary suffering for already stressed patients and is an economically short-sighted measure.
