MSG denies cost hike for IVF drugs locally
CLAIMS of a massive hike in the cost of drugs for couples going through in vitro fertilisation have been denied by the Medical Specialist Group.
IVF is not available in Guernsey, with islanders having to travel for treatment, often to the UK.
Local patients are used to paying a £55 prescription fee to receive medication locally from the MSG after it has been prescribed at appointments with specialist consultants in the UK.
Complaints were raised on social media that the prescription fee had rocketed nearly 600% to £375 without notice.
Deputy Marc Leadbeater, who sits on the Health & Social Care Committee, wrote to one patient to say he would be taking the matter up with MSG.
MSG chairman Steve Evans said yesterday that the fee had not changed, but its wider fertility service was under review.
He said it was being re-evaluated to ‘enhance the consultant-led, on-island support for fertility treatment’.
‘We apologise for how this has been communicated and have contacted those affected,’ he said.
‘At present, the current practice of MSG consultants providing prescriptions for IVF treatment will remain at a fee of £55 per prescription.
‘We are actively engaging with island GPs and HSC.
‘Providing on-island support is more convenient and less stressful for our patients, and we are committed to continually improving the care they deserve.’
Currently HSC supports some travel and prescription costs, but does not pay for the IVF treatment.
Funding for IVF was last raised in the States in July 2023, with Deputy Gavin St Pier asking if it had been considered by HSC to boost the island’s demographic and population needs.
HSC president Al Brouard said that there had been ‘no substantive change in policy’.
IVF is funded by the NHS in the UK, but only if certain criteria are met.
According to NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, women under 40 should be offered three rounds of NHS-funded IVF treatment if they have been trying unsuccessfully to start a family for two or more years, or if they have had 12 or more unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination.
The original post on social media highlighting the increased cost sparked nearly 50 responses before the woman who posted stopped allowing comments.
Many were outraged at the potential increased charges on top of an already stressful treatment process.
