Andrews Government announces Health Complaints Commissioner probe of dodgy IVF providers

A shocking number of cases ranging from lost embryos to misleading information given to hopeful would-be parents has been uncovered ahead of a probe into IVF practitioners. But the shonky providers are yet to face action from authorities.

Shonky IVF providers are yet to face action from authorities as the state government launches a new investigation to weed out those taking advantages of vulnerable families.

A major review of assisted reproductive treatment, given to the government last October, identified a range of shocking cases after whistleblowers came forward to detail dodgy practices.

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Premier Daniel Andrews announced this morning that the Health Complaints Commissioner would be tasked with investigating “dodgy, dangerous and unethical practices by IVF providers”.

The commissioner’s report will be due by the end of the year, with cases of false, misleading and deceptive conduct referred to Consumer Affairs Victoria for prosecution.

Premier Daniel Andrews announces Health Complaints Commissioner will investigate “dodgy, dangerous and unethical practices” of unscrupulous IVF providers. @theheraldsun #springst pic.twitter.com/TWt7TzaRym

— Tom Minear (@tminear) March 18, 2019

No penalties have been meted out to dodgy providers identified in the report given to the government in October, as the claims raised were mostly confidential.

“The majority of IVF practitioners do the right thing, but we know some are taking advantage of vulnerable Victorians. We’re cracking down on them and we’ll weed them out of the system,” Health Minister Mikakos said.

She said the Michael Gorton review of Victoria’s assisted reproductive treatment system “didn’t go out looking for dodgy practices but that’s what he found”.

Worrying cases uncovered included:

• Faulty incubators in a laboratory led to the loss of embryos. Patients were not advised of the equipment failure and were led to believe the embryos “had succumbed naturally”.

• Embryos were lost due to an error in a clinic’s freezing schedule, with patients not told of the incident and no records kept.

• An unviable embryo was knowingly transferred by a doctor into a patient, who was told it had a good chance of success.

• A woman was given hormones which overstimulated her ovaries and forced her to be hospitalised.

A number of worrying cases prompted the move. Picture: iStock

Ms Mikakos said providers were also caught giving out misleading information about success rates and treatment costs.

Mr Andrews hit out at IVF providers “who exploit women and families, who peddle in false hope, and charge very, very heavily for that”.

“There’s something particularly insidious about that,” he said.

Ms Mikakos said the government expected to receive the final Gorton report in the next few weeks, which would recommend “a raft of legislative changes”.

Penalties will also be increased for dodgy IVF providers as the Health Complaints Commissioner’s investigation moves forward this year.

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