Fewer men getting vasectomy procedure as couples ‘fear relationships will not last’

THE number of men having vasectomies has dropped by 63 per cent  in a decade, NHS figures show.

Fears that relationships will not last are said to be partly behind the fall.

Cash cuts could also help explain the figures for NHS hospitals and sexual health clinics, published by NHS Digital. They show 29,344 had the snip in 2005/06 but just 10,880 in 2015/16.

It should be available on the NHS but some regions have restricted access to the procedure in a bid to save money.

And a spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “The decline may also reflect social shifts.

“Couples are waiting longer to start and complete their families, and there may also be greater awareness that relationships can fail and that vasectomy is generally an irreversible choice.”

Family Planning Association boss Natika Halil  added: “Some commissioners in England, in areas including Essex, are now no longer offering vasectomies on the NHS, which means men may have to pay up around £500 for a private procedure.”

But the rate of reduction is slowing down,  with only a two per cent decrease between 2014/15 and 2015/16.