This week sees us asking for a few minutes of your time as we launch the 2011 Patient Survey.
Infertility Patient Survey 2011
Infertility Network UK leads the National Infertility Awareness Campaign (NIAC) which works on behalf of infertility patients throughout the UK to end the postcode lottery and replace this with a fair and equitable infertility service for every patient irrespective of where they live.
You may see copies of a poster in your clinic highlighting this patient survey which NIAC is conducting to help us to build a picture of the problems people encounter in accessing NHS treatment and which we can use to ensure your experiences are highlighted and help us in our fight for better NHS funding
The NICE Fertility Guidance issued in 2004 which was based on clinical effectiveness as well as cost effectiveness recommended that eligible couples in England and Wales, where the woman is aged between 23 and 39, should receive three full cycles of treatment. Over the last few years we have seen a gradual improvement in the provision of treatment by many Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England, however we know that some still refuse to fund treatment, or provide only one cycle with others implementing restrictive access criteria. This is totally unfair on patients – after all access to treatment should not be dependent on your postcode! Patients in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can also often face problems in accessing treatment.
Please share details of the survey with other patients, including those who may have finished treatment – the more patients who complete the survey the better able we will be to build up an accurate picture of the problems being encountered by patients. Remember, we can only help you to fight for fair and equitable NHS funding if you help us.
In addition to the survey launch this week Clare has been working on funding issues and visiting a London clinic as well as speaking with Fertility Europe. Clare and Susan have also been contributing on a paper to be discussed at the ESHRE Annual Meeting in Stockholm next month.
Sheena is this week looking at advertising, planning has begun for the pre-show magazine in advance of The Fertility Show - if you're interested in advertising do contact Sheena - sheena@infertilitynetworkuk.com
Susan is working on a All Party Parliamentary Group on Infertility (APPGI) report for the next issue of the magazine, as well as continuing to work with the media on funding stories following last weeks publication, don't forget you can still access the full APPGI Report here http://www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/News/?id=15620
Sharon has also been working with NIAC on IVF funding in Northern Ireland and meeting with regional members of More To Life to raise awareness fo the valuable work put in by the local volunteers and support group. Sharon is also attending a Facebook training session - we're hoping to see more of her on the I N UK, MTL & ACeBabes facebook pages, if you've not yet 'Liked' us you can do see using the links below:
I N UK http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Infertility-Network-UK/201370049892442
I N Scotland http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Infertility-Network-Scotland/110398088995644
More To Life http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/More-To-Life/153493458044957
ACeBabes http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/ACeBabes/108648085827898
Fiona is following up a new venue offer for the Omagh support group and organising a speaker for the next Belfast group and working with local volunteers to continue to raise awareness of the support available in Northern Ireland.
We are in the recruitment process for the Regional Organiser posts in England - please do see the Find a Friend forum for informaiton on local get togehter - or why not suggest your own!
I am delighted to say the Monday night virtual support group continues to be a welcome source of support to all our members - wherever they are, everyone is welcome to drop in to a facilitated chat between 8 and 9pm each Monday. The chatrooms are also open 24/7 so can be used at any time to find online support and chat from others who understand.
We're still looking for blogging buddies to come forward to help set up a infertility community blog on our new HealthUnlocked site - if you are interested do get in touch with Tracey - traceysainsbury@infertilitynetworkuk.com
Gwenda had a funding focus to the start of the week but has also worked with regional media following the launch of a new patient online service, she has also been working with a regional fundraiser and attending a funding training day in Glasgow.
Claire is editing the next issue of the magazine, working with ACeBabes articles for a future newsletter and working on the next More To Life newsletter too. We'd still love to hear from you for future publications - especially men! It would be great to hear from male therpaists working in infertility too - if you're interested in submitting a male factor infertility professional article do get in touch with Claire - claireogilvie@infertilitynetworkuk.com
And don't forget it's not just in print we want our menfolk to feel more included. We offer additional usernames to partners to enable access to the online community - this goes for same sex couples too. You just need to email Tracey your preferences and you'll soon be ready to access support, advice & information online too. traceysainsbury@infertilitynetworkuk.com
As always - we are your charity, working to make experiencing infertility less difficult. We welcome your ideas, thoughts, suggestions, complaints, irritations and comments, if you'd like to share your views about how we can improve the services we offer then do get in touch.
