Access to IVF 'quite poor' as State-funded treatment not yet available

Dr Roisin O'Loughlin, founder of The Fertility HQ, welcomed the establishment of five regional fertility hubs around the country as progress. 

Access to IVF treatment in this country remains “quite poor” with women still unsure how plans for publicly-funded care will affect them, a GP specializing in women’s health said.

The Government has pledged from September that women will have access to State-funded IVF, initially offered through private centres. However, the details are yet to be announced.

Dr Roisin O’Loughlin said: “Accessibility to fertility care is quite poor in Ireland.” She pointed to an EU study ranking Ireland 40 out of 43 countries for this type of healthcare.

“Even though State-funded IVF has been on the table since 2007, it is still not available,” she said. “We are still no wiser as to who exactly will be eligible for publicly-funded IVF, they haven’t finalised that, as yet, and there hasn’t been an exact plan as to when exactly this will be rolled out.

“I know that IUI (intrauterine insemination) has been proposed but we haven’t any update for finalization of those plans.”  IUI and IVF are types of artificial fertility treatments.

Dr O’Loughlin, a GP in Malahide and founder of The Fertility HQ, said, however, she welcomes the establishment of five regional fertility hubs around the country as progress. These are expected to begin offering IUI later this year, the Department of Health has said. 

A survey carried out for The Fertility HQ, published on Thursday, found almost one in five women (22%) feel insecure discussing fertility and believe it is a taboo topic that should not be openly discussed. The survey, of 500 people aged 25 to 45, also found 44% of women feel societal pressure to have a child but only 34% of men feel this.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

The survey found women aged 20-35 are most concerned about knowing their egg count. However, women aged 35-45 are more concerned about their risk of early menopause occurring. 

The majority of women (72%) feel confident discussing their fertility, the findings indicate, although some said they would only do so with close friends (26%) or their GP (9%).

“I regularly encounter patients who have queries regarding their fertility, particularly those seeking reliable fertility resources and information about their reproductive health,” Dr O’Loughlin said.

The GP, who holds a Masters in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from University College Cork, has helped develop a test which can tell women if they have a normal amount of eggs for their age.