AQW 15140/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 22/02/2021
Answered On Date: 07/02/2022
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health why, as of 16 February 2021, there is no update to services at the Regional Fertility Centre and fertility treatment diagnostic services continue to be paused with staff redeployed.

Answer:

Services and treatments, including diagnostic services have resumed at the Regional Fertility Centre (RFC), from March 2021 and staff have worked hard to recover and stabilise service provision following a temporary pause due to the COVID-19 response. As a result, by March 2022, waiting times will be comparable or improved in relation to the position prior to COVID-19.

Stabilising waiting times is essential to increasing IVF provision in line with the Executive’s NDNA commitment to providing up to three IVF cycles, which my Department is working to introduce as early as possible. The RFC has also published information on its website about waiting times: https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/services/rfc/treatment-options/treatment-waiting-times.