April 2013
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Welcome to April's edition of the HFEA e-update.
In this month's e-update, as we reach the end of the financial year we look back at what we have achieved in the last 12 months.
We also and look ahead to what we have in store for 2013/14.
I hope you enjoy this edition.
Peter Thompson, Chief Executive, HFEA.
Latest news
The year in review
The past 12 months have been a timely reminder of the vital work which the HFEA does on behalf of patients, the public and Parliament.
In March we completed our work for the Government on the ethics and science of two new in vitro fertilisation (IVF) based techniques designed to avoid serious mitochondrial diseases. Our wide-ranging consultation and public dialogue work enabled us to give clear advice to the Government about public attitudes towards this new technology.
Over the past year, we have improved our regulatory approach, to the benefit of patients and clinics alike. In April 2012, we introduced a zero rate fee for frozen embryo transfers that follow elective single embryo transfers (eSET), a saving to clinics which we expect clinics to pass onto self-funding patients.
In the last 12 months we have also moved to a new system of unannounced inspection visits at the licence midpoint, which has enabled us to spend more time observing clinical practice, speaking with patients and auditing records.
We have also reached an agreement with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) so that IVF clinics in England, which are currently registered with the CQC for certain surgical procedures will, in future, be solely regulated and inspected by the HFEA. This agreement will come into force in October 2013.
For the past three years the future of the HFEA has been an uncertain one. No longer. In January the Department of Health announced that the HFEA would be retained as an independent regulator. We face the future with confidence.
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Patient stories
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Choose a fertility clinic
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HFEA inspections
Read about what is the purpose of an inspection and what happens before, during and after an inspection visit.
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Page last updated: 30 April 2013