Couple re-mortgage house to fund IVF course

ALISON and Paul Moore had always longed for children.

But after two years without success, the pair, from Greenways, Bignall End, pictured left, were told they would need IVF treatment.

Alison, aged 32, is now four months pregnant. But her joy has come at the cost of re-mortgaging her house and spiralling into thousands of pounds of debt.

The Moores have spoken out about the injustice of North Staffordshire PCT's decision not to fund fertility treatment – particularly when one cycle of IVF is provided on the NHS in nearby Stoke-on-Trent.

The couple have spent £4,000 of their own cash on IVF treatment at a clinic in Nottingham – which was successful on its first attempt – after being refused funding by the trust.

Mrs Moore, an office worker, said: "I do not regret my decision to fund the treatment. I am absolutely over the moon to be pregnant.

"But I'm angry that if I'd lived a few miles down the road, I would have got the treatment on the NHS.

"We even thought of buying a house in another area and renting it out at one point so that we would be eligible for treatment."

The Moores, who have been married for two years, started trying for children four years ago. After two years they went for tests, but doctors were unable to find anything medically wrong with them.

After being refused funding by North Staffordshire PCT, they re-mortgaged their house to pay for treatment at the Nottingham University Research and Treatment Unit (NURTURE).

Mrs Moore added: "They did not say our fertility problems were unexplained, they said they were undiagnosed.

"But treatment to find out why would have cost more than the IVF treatment itself."

The couple are now looking forward to the birth of their child in February but say they have spoken out for other couples in the area.

Mr Moore, a 34-year-old mechanic, added: "It is sheer frustration that we would have got the treatment for free if we lived down the road.

"I have worked every day since I was 16, but the one time that I needed to call on the NHS, they let me down."