Assisted Reproduction Unit (FOI)

Request

Please could you provide answers to the following questions in relation to the Assisted Reproduction Unit:

A

Please can you provide a breakdown for the number of pregnancies and live births there have been on the island following treatment or investigations facilitated by the Assisted Reproduction Unit over the last 5 years? Including a breakdown of how many of these were following IVF, IUI or any other lower level fertility treatment.

B

Please provide a breakdown of the number of unique patients seen by the Assisted

Reproduction Unit by year for the last 5 years?

C

Please can you provide details of the number of donor sperm insemination cycles that have

been undertaken on island by year for the last 5 years? Including the number of live births there have been as a result.

D

For service users undergoing privately funded IVF treatment facilitated by the Assisted

Reproduction Unit, please could you outline the costs incurred that are incurred directly to HCS.

Response

A

Outcome data for live births has not been one of the metrics captured by the Assisted Reproduction Unit over the past five years. In order to collate, each medical record would have to be accessed and this would take longer than the prescribed limit. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

B

Data Source: Hospital Patient Administration System (TrakCare, Report BKG1A)

C

The total number of donor insemination episodes processed in the lab between 1/1/2017 and 31/12/2021 was 125.

As per Response 1, in order to provide information relating to live births, each medical record would have to be accessed and this would take longer than the prescribed limit. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

D

Up to January 2021, the cost base was recorded at £550,000. 

There have been changes made to staffing levels over the last two years which has impacted on costs incurred by Health and Community Services: 

Staff levels up to Jan 2020

• Lead Consultant: One general infertility clinic every two weeks; one IVF clinic every week plus ad hoc clinics - three scanning lists per week plus administration
• Staff Grade Doctor: Daily scanning clinics (two hours): Monday to Friday
• Clinical nurse specialist: 37.5 hours per week
• Staff Nurse: 15 hours per week
• Medical Secretary / Administrator: 20 hours per week

Staff levels up to October 2021

• Lead Consultant: Two general infertility clinic per week;
• Clinical nurse specialist: 37.5 hours per week
• Staff Nurse: 15 hours per week (plus additional 15 hour locum)
• Medical Secretary / Administrator: 30 hours per week 

Staff levels from October 2021

• Lead Consultant: Two general infertility clinic per week;  
• Staff Nurse: 15 hours per week (plus additional 15 hour locum)
• Medical Secretary / Administrator 30 hours per week

The revenue recorded for Health and Community Services from the Assisted Reproduction Unit was recorded in January 2021 as £64,000. This has now increased to circa £350,000.  

Article Applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations

(2) Despite paragraph (1), a scheduled public authority may still supply the information requested on payment to it of a fee determined by the authority in the manner prescribed by Regulations for the purposes of this Article.

(3) Regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the Regulations prescribe, if two or more requests for information are made to a scheduled public authority –

(a) by one person; or

(b) by different persons who appear to the scheduled public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign,

the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them.