IVF
Two thirds of women would consider moving house to access IVF on the NHS, many have suffered fertility problems or know someone who has, while others have experienced depression and financial issues as a result of infertility, according to a report for She magazine, which was based on a poll of 1,000 readers.
Some 80% knew of at least one couple that had experienced problems conceiving, while one in four had visited their GP to discuss fertility concerns. Infertility is the most common reason for women aged 20-45 to see their GP after pregnancy itself and affects 3.5 million people in the UK.
Clare Lewis-Jones CEO of The Infertility Network said: “The results of the SHE survey support what we are hearing each and every day. The World Health Organisation recognises infertility as a disease… The previous Government and the current Government support NHS funding for infertility. Yet, for many, NHS is simply not an option because of their postcode! This is a totally cruel, unjustifiable and unacceptable situation which must end, and quickly before it is too late for those affected and they face a life without children, which for many is too awful to contemplate.”
Even supermarket ASDA took steps a year ago in March 2010 to back couples’ chances of conceiving, offering IVF medication on a not-for-profit basis and at a lower price than anywhere else, saving customers as much as £820 per cycle of treatment. John Evans, Superintendent Pharmacist at Asda, said: “We know that an IVF postcode lottery means a considerable number of women will have to pay for additional cycles of treatment. IVF is extremely expensive and around 40,000 women go through it every year.”
Anna Miskelly from High Wycombe told the BBC: “In Buckinghamshire you can only have one cycle of IVF on the NHS. If I moved 20 minutes to Berkhamsted I would be entitled to three cycles, therefore saving myself around 12k.”
Krissy, 39, from Devon, did get three cycles of treatment on the NHS but is just coming to terms with it having failed. She said: “I don’t see why we should have to stop at three to be honest. The impact on our relationship has been huge. It seems so unfair that now we have had our third failed attempt and can’t afford to pay privately, we just have to give up and move on ¬¬– after all the stress and soul-searching we have been through.”
Lisa, 36, from Stockport, can’t afford to pay for treatment but isn’t eligible because since October 2010, her PCT has restricted the age range to 30-35. “I had been trying for a baby for two years before my GP would even consider helping, so was already delayed in starting the process. After lots of tests, they discovered I had PCOS and no right ovary. I tried Metformin for a year but still didn’t ovulate. Anyone who thinks people like us should have to pay for a treatment obviously already have children and will never know what it feels like.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: “The local NHS decides on the funding of fertility treatments such as IVF. They make these decisions based on the Health priorities of their local population. Current Nice guidelines recommend that the NHS provides up to three cycles of IVF for eligible couples. Our recent letter to the NHS reinforces how important it is for PCTs to take account of these guidelines.”
A Department of Health survey from 2009 showed 30% of health trusts offered three cycles, 23% two cycles and 47% one cycle. Since January 2010, there have been widespread reports of trusts slashing funding for IVF, with more cuts expected this year. Some Primary Care Trusts planning cuts, such as Salford and Trafford in the North West, currently fund only one cycle anyway, so any reduction would in all probability mean no funding for patients. The question many women raise on forums is, why does the tax payer provide funding for NHS treatment for lung cancer caused by smoking or for liver disease caused by excessive drinking? Surely it is a woman’s right to have a baby and infertility is not a self-inflicted illness.
SHE editor, Claire Irvin, said: “It is something that affects tens of thousands of women across the UK – including members of our own team and it should be given the priority it deserves.” She magazine’s ‘fairtility’ campaign encourages women to sign a petition at www.allaboutyou.com/shefairtility.
Female First Amy Grace
Tagged in Health