Women with obese male partners will be denied IVF treatment, rules NHS group

Decision comes amid 'unprecedented financial challenges' due to 'stretched' budgets

More than a fifth of UK men have a BMI over 30 (Getty)

Women who have obese partners will be denied fertility treatment in a bid to cut costs by the Bath and North East Somerset clinical commissioning group (CCG).

If their male partner has a body mass index over 30 – something suffered by more than a fifth of British men - women will be barred from IVF.

The decision was made in the face of “unprecedented financial challenges” due to “stretched” NHS budgets, the CCG said.

The move was in line with NICE guidance on fertility that says men with a BMI over 30 are less likely to be able to conceive, said its clinical chair, Dr Ian Orpen.

“So if being a healthy weight is going to help one of my patients to conceive, then that’s something I’d like to help them achieve,” he said. “We already ask women to be a healthy weight before fertility treatment, and we want to be fair about the way we share out NHS services.”

But Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer and fertility expert at the University of Sheffield, argued the evidence suggesting male infertility is influenced by BMI is “controversial” and that there was no consensus on the subject.

“I would argue they are twisting the NICE Guidelines to suit their decision,” he told The Independent.

Mr Pacey accused the NHS group of using BMI in men as a “rationing tool to save themselves money”.

“In my view, their decisions are not at all in line with NICE Guidelines and they are straying into areas where there is absolutely no consensus,” he added. “Quite sad really.”

Martin Tod, chief executive of the Men’s Health Forum, told The Independent he was “saddened” by the decision.

“Despite their claims, it’s not in line with NICE guidelines,” he said. “And they’ve completely failed to take into account the poor record of weight management services in the local area in providing a service that works for men.”

NICE guidelines on fertility state: “Men who have a BMI of 30 or over should be informed that they are likely to have reduced fertility.”

Over the last 10 years, most CCGs have withdrawn IVF treatment for obese women after evidence showed overweight women are more likely to struggle to conceive, but only a handful have imposed restrictions based on men’s weight.

Dorset, West Cheshire and Devon have all introduced the same restrictions, while the East of England group has a male BMI limit of 35.

Obese men seeking IVF treatment in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are referred for weight reduction classes.

Health chiefs are under increasing pressure to cut funding amid a growing demand for services and changing needs among the population.

Just one in six commissioning groups now offer the recommended three cycles of IVF treatment for hopeful couples.

Bath and North East Somerset CCG faces a £6 million funding gap next year, despite achieving most of the £11.6 million of required savings for 2017-18.

“The CCG Board has found this an incredibly difficult decision to make,” Dr Orpen said. “However our financial challenge has forced us to have to consider restricting access to services to protect resources needed for patients who require urgent and emergency care, as well as those in our population with increasingly complex health and social care needs.”

“The final policy changes we have implemented reflect a balancing of public feedback, clinical evidence and our financial position.”