CHILDLESS couples in East Lancashire were dealt a devastating blow today after cash-strapped health bosses revealed they had suspended sending patients for fertility treatment.

And it has also been disclosed that the maximum age of women eligible for treatment could soon be reduced from 40 to 35.

East Lancashire Health Authority has traditionally paid to send couples for a range of treatment at out-of-town hospitals, including In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and artificial insemination by donor.

But it has suspended any more "assisted conception" referrals because of the soaring demand for treatment. The health authority has already exhausted its 1996/97 budget for subfertility treatment.

The controversial decision means 40 couples who have been referred for treatment in recent weeks now face an anxious wait to discover if their treatment will be funded.

The health authority, which purchases the healthcare for East Lancashire's 500,000 residents, has been examining ways of reducing its budget for Extra Contractual Referrals (ECRs) - patients sent out of the district for treatment -since May. The suspension of further subfertility treatment and a series of recommendations will be discussed at an East Lancashire Health Authority meeting tomorrow.

One recommendation is to secure an extra subfertility contract in 1997/98 and only accept ECRs in "exceptional circumstances."

Last year the authority's total ECR budget was overspent by more than £800,000 and health chiefs forecasted a cash crisis this year if steps were not taken to balance the books.

A top-level working group has been looking at several categories of treatment which could possibly be rationed.

Subfertility is the first topic to come under the microscope and the health authority has recommended that it should base its eligibility criteria on that of Central Manchester Trust.

Treatment is only provided to couples with a history of "stable heterosexual cohabitation" who have lived together for at least three years.

Couples with a child living with them from a current or previous relationship, or have an adopted child, are excluded.

About a quarter of health authorities in the UK do not pay for assisted conception services at all.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.