HEALTH & WELLBEING
You must be registered with a GP to access treatment and referral to an NHS fertility specialist. All military personnel will be registered with a military GP, while their partners should be registered with either a civilian GP or, where entitled, with the Defence Medical Services. Couples who experience problems in conceiving should be seen together as both partners are affected by decisions surrounding investigation and treatment. If this is conducted through a civilian GP for non-serving partners, in order to receive appropriate support from the chain of command, the military partner should still inform their military GP that they are seeking help for potential fertility issues.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is responsible for controlling and monitoring fertility treatment and their website (
www.hfea.gov.uk) shows the success rates for different age criteria for every UK fertility clinic. The majority of clinics will understand the military funding system which requires funding to be agreed prior to treatment commencing. However, for clinics less familiar with the system, they should be advised to engage with the local NHS Armed Forces Commissioning Team4 to better understand the process. In the past personnel have experienced difficulty with clinics not appreciating that up to three cycles should be provided for military couples in England. Should this occur, personnel should see their military GP, who will be able to provide support through engagement with Surgeon General’s department5.
The revised military Personnel policy, due to be published Autumn 2015, will clearly set out the process by which Service personnel can request geographical stability. It is understood that some may not wish to discuss such a personal aspect of their life, but early engagement will allow the chain of command to provide support.
It is recognised that some may either not be eligible for NHS funded IVF or choose to self-fund treatment and they will be afforded the same stability provision as those accessing NHS services.
For personnel on an accompanied overseas posting, IVF in location will not be part of the overseas package due in part to the huge variation in standards of services around the world; this will provide parity between overseas postings. Where possible and practicable, fertility investigations will be provided to ascertain whether personnel
40 Envoy Summer 2015
are candidates for IVF. If they are, they will be given the option to apply for an early return to the UK to access NHS provisioned services or wait until the end of their assignment before starting treatment on their return to the UK. This will allow personnel to make an informed choice supported by both the chain of command and medical profession.
It is also recognised that some people are not ready to have families but may wish to preserve their ability to have one in the future, through sperm or egg freezing. NHS funding does not allow for this but is available through fertility clinics on a self- funding basis. Personnel will need to meet the eligibility criteria in the future in order to request NHS funding to use the stored eggs or sperm in one of their cycles of IVF.
So if you are finding it difficult to conceive, being a military couple does mean that there
is plenty of support available and you are entitled to NHS provisioned IVF, providing you meet the criteria. Read the NICE6 guidelines, see your GP, and be referred to the NHS specialists. Take the details of the Armed Forces Commissioning teams with you, and should you experience difficulty accessing services, ask the military GP for support in unlocking the process.
1 Assisted conception is the name given to the variety of treatments in support of conception, IVF being one option.
2 As set out in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
3 Up to three cycles in England, (any previous cycles of IVF will be counted as part of the funded three cycles) and Scotland, two cycles in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.
4
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/ armed-forces/contacts/.
5
SGCOS-SCTHd@mod.uk 94422 4711 6
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg156
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56