Claiming from the NHS for Private Treatment

[mooreda]

I am in my early thirties and have no children. My wife has two children from a previous relationship and is in the fourties. She was sterilised but we paid for the operation to be reversed privately two years ago.

As nothing has happened, we have decided to go for IVF. However, we will have to go Private and pay £2500 for each cycle.

What I want to know is that as I have not had children of my own, why are the NHS refusing to offer an IVF cycle on them as opposed to having to go private. I am really not happy - as a Tax Payer it stinks!

Does anyone know the legalities of trying to pursue even a contribution from the NHS for the Private treatment?

[poppynurse]

You could try writing to your PCT - I would imagine that one of the factors is that your wife is in her 40s (when the chance of success is low), plus the NHS is hard up and different PCTs allocate funding priorities differently. I appreciate your frustration but IVF is not a life saving/necessary intervention which is where most of the funding goes (although as I said different PCTs may decide to pay for one attempt).

[mooreda]

bump - any other ideas?

[beauty and the beast]

The same thing happened to us except it was me who couldn't have children, my partner has 4 children from his previous marriage. We were told 7 yrs ago we didn't fit the rquirements for IVF and to go private, we couldn't afford that, so after 4 yrs of being pushed and pushed by a friend we went back to our Dr and explained how we felt it was unfair, and and could we be referred to the local Gynea hospital and see a consultant there, this we did and we talked about how the children didn't live with us they had a mother of there own and that I would never be there mother, but wanted to be a mother to a child of my own, our consultant agreed and he wrote to the local NHS hospital that did IVF where we'd been refused 4yrs earlier, and within 2 months we were on the waiting list a month later we got a letter saying we'd been put to the top of the list as it had been back dated 4 yrs, now we have a beautiful 2 and a 1/2 yr old girl and are just going through the IVF again. Please DON'T GIVE UP GET I hope you get somewhere with it fingers crossed. There is also egg share that cost £600.00 which is a big difference.

[mazzab]

Hi folks,

I thought I'd post to clarify the NHS rules on IVF.

Simply if EITHER of a couple has kids, even with another partner, IVF is not free.

IVF is expensive, and is considered a "lifestyle" treatment by many.
There is still a debate as to whether it should be funded by the NHS at all.
One cycle of IVF would pay for 5 cateract ops, for instance. (approx, and according to a mate who is a public health consultant)

The rules are there to stop the limited availablity being used on more people than the goverment (that you elect) want to fund at present. No one in the NHS can bend these rules. they are pretty much written in stone.

If you want to change them in the future, write to your MP or vote for someone who makes it an issue.

Rationing is a fact in the NHS - it just can't pay for everything. We all want it to pay for what affects us, but it can't.

I'm not saying I don't sympathise, but I have to say at least an explicit decision has been made here and it's not a postcode lottery like some things.

[Big Lash]

She was sterilised but we paid for the operation to be reversed privately two years ago.

As nothing has happened, we have decided to go for IVF. However, we will have to go Private and pay £2500 for each cycle.

I am really not happy - as a Tax Payer it stinks!

As another tax payer, I will tell you what stinks.

People have private ops, which then go wrong, or people change their minds.

They then want these ops reversed or corrected, and expect the NHS to pick up the bill. As our taxes fund the NHS, we are paying for these ops, rather than seeing our money being used for LIFE SAVING (or at least quality of life changing) operations.

Sympathy for you not having children....yes
Sympathy for the NHS not paying.........no