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Professor John Robertson OBA
From IVF waiting times in Scotland Quarter ending 30 June 2025 published yesterday:
During the quarter ending 30 June 2025, 320 patients were screened. The 90% standard was met, with all patients attending a screening appointment within 52 weeks of referral.
38.8% were treated in 0-13 weeks, 30.9% in 14-26, 9.4% in 27-39 and 20.9 in 40-52 weeks.1
The target has been met consistently since 2016, 70% in half the time, but never ever reported in the media.
Why is it more important than it’s media neglect suggests?
From Fertility Scotland:
Scotland is proud to be the only UK nation to provide up to three full IVF/ICSI cycles on the NHS for eligible couples with some of the highest pregnancy rates and lowest multiple births across all UK nations.2
In England:
IVF: ‘People are being priced out of becoming parents’3
How free IVF saves lives and reduces NHS bills – from 2022 research published in European Psychiatry:
The psychosocial impact of infertility has been well researched and documented. However very little research has been conducted to assess the causative relationship between infertility and serious psychiatric illness such as suicide. According to the results obtained by assessment of MINI scale , the prevalence of major depressive disorder (50 % ) followed by Dysthymia (persistent depression) (25%) was documented among infertile group while suicidality at 15% were significantly higher than other disorder. No such cases of suicidality or Dysthymia was found among patients of control group. (fertile group).4
Sources:
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland/ivf-waiting-times-in-scotland-quarter-ending-30-june-2025/
- https://fertility.scot/about-nhsscotland-fertility-services/#:~:text=Learn%20more%20about%20Fertility%20Services%20in%20NHS%20Scotland,births%20across%20all%20UK%20nations.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-67946227
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9566938
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
These data add to 100%, which is remarkable. If there was a few women who did not get treatment, I expect the media to highlight the case of one woman who has had to wait more than a year, it will get the ‘IVF services slammed’ headline with no context. One year will become ‘nearly 400 days’, to have the impact that hacks think big numbers have.
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O/T:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gjr0ylenzo
Poor lady, that must have been a terrible shock.
It is thankfully regulated in Scotland.
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I saw that earlier. The BBC article says the funeral industry in England and Wales is unregulated and relies on a voluntary code of practice.
While it provides a link to a statutory code of practice in Scotland, which is based on a 2016 Act, there no report on what Scotland does do.
I can only assume there is a BBC embargo on reporting something which shows Scotland has a better policy than England and Wales.
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