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Couple shocked at free IVF rejection by NHS

Rosie Eaton
BBC CWR
BBC A smiling couple walk next to a lake with a water feature in the background. The woman has long dark hair and wears a light, cream top. The man to her left smiles and has short, red-blonde hair and stubble. He wears a blue top. Behind them is a grey-blue lake with trees around it.BBC
Andrew and Gemma Standen have paid more than £40,000 for IVF treatments

A couple said they were shocked and angry after being told they could not get fertility treatment on the NHS because they had previously gone private.

Andrew and Gemma Standen, from Hampton in Arden, near Solihull, were referred by their GP for NHS treatment but said, faced with a 12-month waiting list, they decided to get the process started privately.

They paid £14,000 for their first round of IVF without realising it would disqualify them from getting free treatment.

A spokesperson for NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) said its criteria for accessing NHS-funded IVF services were to ensure fair and effective use of NHS resources."

Mrs Standen was told by her consultant at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield that, because she had already had a round of IVF, she was no longer eligible for free treatment.

The policy is the same across much of the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Elsewhere in the country, only two other ICBs will not offer IVF on the NHS after private treatment.

"It's such a slow process so we decided to do private because wanted to speed it up because of the age," Mr Standen told the BBC, adding that the regional differences were "unfair".

"I don't see how they can make that decision and turn around to somebody and say 'that's it, you're not going to have a kid'."

BBC/John Bray A woman with long dark hair looks at the camera next to a man with short, red-blonde hair. She wears a beige jacket over a white top while he wears a grey suit jacket with a pink flower in his pocket and a grey patterned tie against a white shirt. Behind them are the stone walls and columns of the cathedral.BBC/John Bray
Andrew and Gemma Standen renewed their commitment to each other at BBC CWR's We Still Do celebration at Coventry Cathedral earlier this year

A spokesperson for the Birmingham and Solihull ICB said they understood the difficult, emotional journey couples were on when it came to fertility treatment.

"Criteria for accessing NHS-funded IVF services are set locally and are based on clinical evidence and the needs of our population to ensure fair and effective use of NHS resources," they added.

"Where there are exceptional clinical circumstances, patients who do not meet this criteria may be referred by their clinician for treatment via an Individual Funding Request."

The couple have now paid more than £40,000 for three rounds of IVF which were all unsuccessful.

They said they decided to stop trying and instead find contentment with their family as it is.

The couple renewed their commitment to each other at BBC CWR's We Still Do celebration in February.

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