NHS postcode lottery leaves couple with huge IVF bill while ‘you get more chances minutes away’
A couple whose only round of IVF on the NHS failed has branded the system which grants three cycles of treatment in some areas and just one in others as an “unfair lottery” which has left them needing to raise over £9,000 for just one more chance at a private practice.
Suffering with anxiety and depression, 27-year-old Sophie Sternschuss-Howes from Bursledon, Hampshire, attempted to take her own life in May 2023 after three unsuccessful years of trying to have a baby with her husband Darren, 35.
In January 2024, Sophie underwent a round of IVF treatment on the NHS after tests failed to uncover why they were struggling to conceive – but it did not work and they have now been told the
