Trust in IVF is broken – it must be restored
The fertility industry in Australia is big business. Its annual revenue is $800 million. The two largest IVF companies, Virtus Health and Monash IVF, make more than half that money, revenue built on people's dreams and desperate hopes. The financial and emotional investment in making a dream of bringing a child into the world a reality is profound.
IVF providers are often the last resort for aspiring parents when nature seems to have conspired against them. They are the facilitators of that hope. Patients put their trust in them. It should never be broken. And yet, as recent news reports and developments have shown, it is. This is unconscionable. This is human life after all. An error in the delivery of this precious gift is devastatingly traumatic to those involved.
The Age has recently reported on two incidents involving Monash IVF. In one, a woman received the wrong embryo at its Clayton clinic in June, and in 2023 at its Brisbane facility, an embryo transfer error led to a Queensland woman giving birth to a stranger's baby.
A few years earlier, Monash paid $56 million in compensation to settle a class action involving 700 families affected in a bungled genetic testing program. The error might have caused healthy embryos to be tossed out. Monash chief executive Michael Knaap resigned this month.
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Australia's health ministers agreed last week to a three-month review to look into the best model for an independent accreditation body to oversee the assisted reproductive technology sector. The states' health secretaries will also examine a possible realignment of the state-based regulators, their axing for a national regulator, and if registration requirements should be extended to embryologists and scientists involved in fertility processes. The Age welcomes these developments. At present, the industry operates under a self-accreditation and licensing system under the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee. Queensland is the only state not to endorse a national body, having only recently adopted a regulation scheme.
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said last week that the present system was not working. 'It simply doesn't pass the pub test that the people that provide the service are also the ones that determine who provides the service,' she said.
It is equally troubling that, as Thomas conceded, the errors that are made public may represent only a percentage of the true figure of fertility patient complications across the industry. 'I think it's concerning that, in fact, there may well be more errors that we don't know about, and that is because the body that currently accredits fertility care providers is made up of fertility care providers,' she said.
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Heart hospital closing operating theatre, beds for ‘fiscal sustainability'
'We've spent almost two-thirds of a billion dollars putting up this facility. It's madness.' A Monash Health spokesman insisted the changes would not be detrimental to patients, and said they were about using hospital resources more efficiently. 'This operational change at the Victorian Heart Hospital aligns services and resources with patient demand, not rumoured budget cuts, and will not negatively impact patient wait times or outcomes, or our team members,' the spokesman said. 'The change will not reduce the number of procedures performed.' But a change impact statement prepared by Monash Health in February this year, leaked to The Age, states it was 'no longer feasible for Monash Health to operate under the current care and establishment model'. 'The closure of one lab will enhance our planned operational improvement work and, in addition, assist in the program being fiscally sustainable,' the document says. 'The total number of half-day sessions will reduce from 44 to 40 public sessions that will be available for procedures.' 'The Victorian government is very interested in having new railway lines, but not in addressing public health.' Dr Roderick McCrae In leaked correspondence to staff, also seen by The Age, Monash Health said the changes were necessary because of Victoria's activity funding caps. Under these arrangements, health services that conduct surgeries beyond their agreed targets are not fully reimbursed for the extra surgeries. 'Currently, the organisation is operating at approximately 106 per cent of its funded target,' the letter, from May, states. Loading 'This means 4 per cent of activity is being delivered without corresponding funding, which introduces financial risk rather than benefit.' Dr Roderick McCrae, Victorian president of doctors' union the Australian Salaried Medical Officers, expressed concerns about the changes, saying they reflected broader issues with the state's overwhelmed health system. 'There is a massive underinvestment in physical and mental healthcare across Victoria,' he said, adding that demand for these services was intensifying due to the state's growing population. 'The Victorian government is very interested in having new railway lines, but not in addressing public health.' Two Victorian Heart Hospital staff confirmed that the hospital's program director, Professor Stephen Nicholls, informed employees late last week that the health service was forging ahead with its plan in coming weeks. The proposed changes have been criticised by doctors working at neighbouring hospitals who regularly refer patients to the specialist facility. One cardiologist, who wanted to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said his hospital had instructed staff to tell patients that they would have to wait longer for procedures at the Victorian Heart Hospital. 'It's terrible from a patient perspective,' he said. 'The longer they wait, the worse their heart gets.' He said the Victorian Heart Hospital was set up to reduce waiting times for heart procedures, and the changes flew in the face of this. 'Now it is a big house with no one in it,' he said. Monash Health says it is well positioned to scale up its services to meet increased demand. State government performance data from the Victorian Heart Hospital shows that the median waiting times for surgery at the Victorian Heart Hospital have deteriorated over the past year. Category 2 patients at the hospital waited a median of 104 days for surgery from January to March 2025, compared with 26 days over the same period last year. In Victoria, category 2 refers to a patient awaiting planned surgery who requires treatment within 90 days. Just 24 per cent of category 2 patients were treated within the recommended 90-day time frame. More than 3000 patients were triaged at the hospital's cardiac emergency department during its first six months of operation, according to a recent annual report. A third cardiology source said they were concerned the changes would contribute to emergency department delays and ambulance ramping because fewer beds would be cleared as quickly. 'It does have a statewide impact,' the source said. The heart hospital overhaul is not the first contentious cost-cutting program at a Victorian health service this year. Just last week, The Age revealed that management at Eastern Health was preparing to cut paediatric services from Maroondah Hospital and relocate specialist staff to Box Hill. The day after The Age 's story, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas fronted the media to confirm she would use her powers to block the proposal – which would have led to children presenting at Maroondah and requiring more than a night's stay in hospital to be transported at least 20 minutes away to another health service. In April, the Royal Children's Hospital scrapped plans to cut a dozen jobs at its Children's Cancer Centre after The Age unveiled the plan in the lead-up to the Good Friday Appeal. A fourth cardiology source described the latest situation at Monash Health as bureaucracy gone mad. 'The department tells Monash Health to find savings. Monash Health tells us they want to save money. But if you speak to the Health Department, they say, 'We wouldn't deem to tell a hospital how to run a hospital.'' An economic impact assessment, presented to the state government in 2017 and later tabled in parliament, stated that the heart hospital would generate almost $400 million for Victoria in 2026 – including $112 million from research and teaching. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the changes appeared to be another example of mismanagement. 'Labor can't manage money, can't manage health, and it's Victorians who are paying the price.' An Allan government spokeswoman said the changes were a decision made by Monash Health based on demand. 'There has been no budget cuts and there is no impact to frontline care,' the spokesperson said. 'Since we opened Australia's first specialist cardiac hospital in 2023, it has transformed and saved the lives of thousands of Victorians – with cutting-edge telehealth facilities so regional Victorians can connect with specialists and local doctors, no matter where they live.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Heart hospital closing operating theatre, beds for ‘fiscal sustainability'
'We've spent almost two-thirds of a billion dollars putting up this facility. It's madness.' A Monash Health spokesman insisted the changes would not be detrimental to patients, and said they were about using hospital resources more efficiently. 'This operational change at the Victorian Heart Hospital aligns services and resources with patient demand, not rumoured budget cuts, and will not negatively impact patient wait times or outcomes, or our team members,' the spokesman said. 'The change will not reduce the number of procedures performed.' But a change impact statement prepared by Monash Health in February this year, leaked to The Age, states it was 'no longer feasible for Monash Health to operate under the current care and establishment model'. 'The closure of one lab will enhance our planned operational improvement work and, in addition, assist in the program being fiscally sustainable,' the document says. 'The total number of half-day sessions will reduce from 44 to 40 public sessions that will be available for procedures.' 'The Victorian government is very interested in having new railway lines, but not in addressing public health.' Dr Roderick McCrae In leaked correspondence to staff, also seen by The Age, Monash Health said the changes were necessary because of Victoria's activity funding caps. Under these arrangements, health services that conduct surgeries beyond their agreed targets are not fully reimbursed for the extra surgeries. 'Currently, the organisation is operating at approximately 106 per cent of its funded target,' the letter, from May, states. Loading 'This means 4 per cent of activity is being delivered without corresponding funding, which introduces financial risk rather than benefit.' Dr Roderick McCrae, Victorian president of doctors' union the Australian Salaried Medical Officers, expressed concerns about the changes, saying they reflected broader issues with the state's overwhelmed health system. 'There is a massive underinvestment in physical and mental healthcare across Victoria,' he said, adding that demand for these services was intensifying due to the state's growing population. 'The Victorian government is very interested in having new railway lines, but not in addressing public health.' Two Victorian Heart Hospital staff confirmed that the hospital's program director, Professor Stephen Nicholls, informed employees late last week that the health service was forging ahead with its plan in coming weeks. The proposed changes have been criticised by doctors working at neighbouring hospitals who regularly refer patients to the specialist facility. One cardiologist, who wanted to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said his hospital had instructed staff to tell patients that they would have to wait longer for procedures at the Victorian Heart Hospital. 'It's terrible from a patient perspective,' he said. 'The longer they wait, the worse their heart gets.' He said the Victorian Heart Hospital was set up to reduce waiting times for heart procedures, and the changes flew in the face of this. 'Now it is a big house with no one in it,' he said. Monash Health says it is well positioned to scale up its services to meet increased demand. State government performance data from the Victorian Heart Hospital shows that the median waiting times for surgery at the Victorian Heart Hospital have deteriorated over the past year. Category 2 patients at the hospital waited a median of 104 days for surgery from January to March 2025, compared with 26 days over the same period last year. In Victoria, category 2 refers to a patient awaiting planned surgery who requires treatment within 90 days. Just 24 per cent of category 2 patients were treated within the recommended 90-day time frame. More than 3000 patients were triaged at the hospital's cardiac emergency department during its first six months of operation, according to a recent annual report. A third cardiology source said they were concerned the changes would contribute to emergency department delays and ambulance ramping because fewer beds would be cleared as quickly. 'It does have a statewide impact,' the source said. The heart hospital overhaul is not the first contentious cost-cutting program at a Victorian health service this year. Just last week, The Age revealed that management at Eastern Health was preparing to cut paediatric services from Maroondah Hospital and relocate specialist staff to Box Hill. The day after The Age 's story, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas fronted the media to confirm she would use her powers to block the proposal – which would have led to children presenting at Maroondah and requiring more than a night's stay in hospital to be transported at least 20 minutes away to another health service. In April, the Royal Children's Hospital scrapped plans to cut a dozen jobs at its Children's Cancer Centre after The Age unveiled the plan in the lead-up to the Good Friday Appeal. A fourth cardiology source described the latest situation at Monash Health as bureaucracy gone mad. 'The department tells Monash Health to find savings. Monash Health tells us they want to save money. But if you speak to the Health Department, they say, 'We wouldn't deem to tell a hospital how to run a hospital.'' An economic impact assessment, presented to the state government in 2017 and later tabled in parliament, stated that the heart hospital would generate almost $400 million for Victoria in 2026 – including $112 million from research and teaching. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the changes appeared to be another example of mismanagement. 'Labor can't manage money, can't manage health, and it's Victorians who are paying the price.' An Allan government spokeswoman said the changes were a decision made by Monash Health based on demand. 'There has been no budget cuts and there is no impact to frontline care,' the spokesperson said. 'Since we opened Australia's first specialist cardiac hospital in 2023, it has transformed and saved the lives of thousands of Victorians – with cutting-edge telehealth facilities so regional Victorians can connect with specialists and local doctors, no matter where they live.'
The Age
12 hours ago
- The Age
Our fertility industry is a mess. As a donor, I know what could fix it
It pains me to say Australia's fertility industry is a mess because it's a system into which I've donated sperm to create humans, in good faith. You'd hope, after the notorious malpractice of past practitioners, the industry – which insists it's reformed from those bad old days – would enforce the strictest of procedures and the most watertight regulation. Sadly not. The profit-driven industry regulates itself, which is proving problematic, to say the least. Staff report being burnt out enough to make mistakes, and the mistakes have emerged with alarming pace in recent weeks. Monash IVF has twice transferred the wrong embryo into a woman. The first time, reported in April, experts said that, while it was worrying, it was an extremely rare, isolated case of human error. Then it happened again last month. My own investigation this week revealed two leading Australian fertility clinics – both owned by Virtus Health – are sending sperm donors inaccurate lists of the children born from their donation. Donors are being introduced to children who are potentially not even biologically theirs. Melbourne IVF sent one donor the wrong child list three times. He's now distressed the kids he has formed relationships with aren't related to him. While voices calling for calm seek to reassure us that Australia remains a very safe place to receive fertility treatment, try telling that to the anguished and conflicted donors who spoke to me. Or to the two women who gave birth to children who aren't theirs. Loading These problems are the tip of the iceberg too. The fertility industry is a bureaucratic quagmire, and it feels like it is now in crisis. It is governed by more than 40 pieces of differing state legislation in nine jurisdictions. It should be governed by a statutory, nationally applicable set of regulations. Urgent changes are clearly needed, which is why a rapid review of the industry was announced by federal Health Minister Mark Butler. He has his work cut out. The most important stakeholders he must listen to are donor-conceived people themselves – the humans created from this industry. They have a set of requests he should prioritise above all others. But as a donor, if we could add one urgent thing to his to-review list, it would be this. Clinics should build in and pay for DNA testing of donors and the children born from their donations as part of their later matching procedures.
