A FAMILY who were denied free IVF treatment after moving just a few miles down the road have welcomed the end of the 'postcode lottery'.

Katy Ovenden, 32, and husband Leigh, moved from Rayleigh to Wickford before the couple knew they needed IVF treatment.

If they had stayed in Rayleigh they would have been eligible for two rounds of NHS funding; in Wickford there is none.

Mrs Ovenden still vividly remembers the heartache of being unable to get pregnant.

“It can feel very lonely when it seems as though you are the only one who can’t conceive,” she said.

“The news we would need IVF hit us pretty badly, it was very hard to stay positive. It seemed as though everyone we knew was getting pregnant and one of the hardest things was the constant stream of baby announcements on social media.

“I felt really happy for people but at the same time I felt this insane jealousy."

The couple wrote to their MP, Mark Francois, and also Matt Hancock, who was Health Secretary at the time, to lobby for equal NHS funding of IVF in Essex.

They eventually went on to have son Charlie in 2021.

Two years later, and the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) has opened a consultation about how a fairer policy should be implemented – which could see residents across the whole of mid and south Essex able to access free IVF treatment.  

"Having funded IVF would take some of the pressure off of an already incredibly emotional and stressful time,” Mrs Ovendon said.  

“We were devastated when we found out we did not qualify for funded IVF rounds as it was one more hurdle to get over to achieve our dream of our family, and it seemed a very unfair hurdle to have to face just because of our postcode.”

Thanos Papathanasiou CEO and medical director at Bourn Hall fertility clinic, which has a Wickford branch, said: “We are delighted that Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), taken this positive step that will hopefully lead to a fairer entitlement to NHS-funded fertility treatment for patients across Essex.

“The current postcode lottery is heart-breaking to couples for whom the only chance of having a baby is through IVF treatment.”