A third of GPs have indicated that they do not believe that IVF should be funded by the NHS.
A survey involving 1158 different healthcare workers has exposed the shocking truth with some stating that they did not believe that children “were a right”.
The figures for couples who have problems conceiving are understood to be 1 in 6 and the current guidelines for NHS funded IVF state that couples under 40 who have been trying to conceive for two years are entitled to up to three cycles of IVF but it has been noted that some authorities allow only one cycle, indeed recent figures suggest that under one in five authorities are allowing more than one cycle.
This is often referred to as a “postcode lottery” with some couples receiving more help than others in their quest to conceive.
The idea that infertility is not a disease or that it does not have enough of a negative effect on couples to warrant NHS intervention, is viewed as at best, inappropriate by the chair of the General Practitioners Committee Dr. Andrew Greene who admits that struggling to conceive can have a hugely detrimental effect on mental as well as physical health.
He said, “If you look at the unhappiness, distress and indeed depression that can come from having difficulty starting families, it is difficult to say they should not receive treatment.”
NHS England and the Government are currently attempting to save £22 Billion over the coming five years.