Couple win IVF funding battle with NHS

With her help they made a series of appeals through a process known as an Individual Funding Request, and their infertility treatment will now be funded by Portsmouth PCT.

Their victory, while not binding on other health bodies, could give hope to many more people, with infertility estimated to affect one in seven couples in Britain.

Mr Marshall, 41, and Mrs Marshall, 36, said: ?We were devastated when we were told we would not be eligible for IVF funding on the NHS because of his child from a previous relationship.

?We were told to pay privately for IVF treatment or keep trying for a baby naturally. We do not have a child together as a couple (despite having regular contact with his child from his first marriage) and it felt terribly unfair and put a huge strain on us.

?It is bad enough when you are struggling to conceive without being told you will not be offered IVF funding on the NHS and you have the added worry and burden of having to pay privately for treatment.

?We were in a state of shock when Louisa told us we had won our appeal and it will take a while for this to sink in.?

Ms Ghevaert, a partner at Porter Dodson solicitors, said: ?There needs to be routine implementation of the Nice guidance across the board. There also needs to be greater recognition and understanding of infertility, which blights too many people?s lives and better support for people struggling to have a family and those needing to undergo IVF.

?It is unfair to deny a childless woman access to IVF funding on the NHS if her partner has a child from a previous relationship. This actively discriminates against women and denies them the opportunity to bear their own children and become mothers.

?By introducing such stringent age restrictions, it denies younger women access to treatment who have three years of proven infertility when they will have a better chance of conceiving at a younger age. Equally, it restricts access to treatment by women who do not actively try for a baby until later in life and who struggle to achieve three years of proven infertility.?

Portsmouth PCT said it could not discuss invididual cases but added that it considers "exceptional cases" where refusing funding may relieve psychological distress.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568409/s/1b17c14f/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Chealth0Cwomen0Ishealth0C89657960CCouple0Ewin0EIVF0Efunding0Ebattle0Ewith0ENHS0Bhtml/story01.htm

diet exercise wellbeing women’s health