The Embryo Protection Authority has finally moved to a larger office but remains plagued by a shortage of human resources despite its plea to government to fulfil its electoral promise on IVF services.
The new office, still within St Luke’s Hospital, remains insufficient to meet its needs, according to its annual report tabled in Parliament last week.
The Health Ministry told Times of Malta discussions have started on another relocation, this time to an office in Floriana where structural works are already under way.
The IVF authority’s call for additional staff to assist it in fulfilling its functions has not yet been met and, when asked by Times of Malta, the Health Ministry only said that “the health department is taking measures to provide the Embryo Protection Authority with the necessary human resources”.
In its annual report, the authority noted that all the work in its first year of operation was done by board members and the secretary. It appealed to the government to fulfil its electoral “to ensure the IVF authority will have all the necessary resources so that IVF can be implemented without restrictions and given free of charge to all couples who require it”.
The authority’s responsibilities include assessing applications and keeping records, giving guidance to existing private clinics and Mater Dei Hospital on IVF procedures and collaborating with the Health Ministry in answering parliamentary questions “being made repeatedly” on assisted reproductive technology (ART) and the eligibility criteria.
It is represented on the ART prioritisation committee, which meets regularly to assess new cases registered every week at Mater Dei.
Applications cannot be assessed on a first-come, first-served basis because priority of treatment is given to couples where the woman’s age is an issue.
The need for the additional provisions is twofold: to provide the authority with the necessary tools for its operations and to bring it in conformity with other statutory acts establishing the set-up of such authorities.
From May 2013 to May 2014, the authority received 142 requests for IVF procedures in the private and public sectors.