NHS cuts – why patients are travelling to India with Amara Healthcare for infertility treatment

20-May-2011

Amara Healthcare is based in London and provides infertility services to UK patients who travel to India for treatment.

The NHS is rationing IVF services in order to make savings of £20 billion by 2015. A survey of family doctors found that 77% said their local Primary Care Trusts had restricted procedures such as IVF. Women are supposed to be able to access 3 cycles of IVF on the NHS (costing over £4000 each) but many areas have stopped providing it all together.

Professor Richard Fleming, director of the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, said that the root cause for infertility is because women are starting their families later in life. Scientific studies have shown that human fertility starts declining at the age of 31, which is the age many women are having their first babies.

The ‘postcode lottery’ produces extreme variations in the amount and type of fertility treatment offered by different NHS trusts. This could mean that an infertile couple living on one side of a street, under the control of one NHS trust, could have access to three free cycles of IVF whilst an infertile couple on the other side, under the control of a different trust, could be offered no NHS funded IVF cycles at all.

Getting IVF treatment on the NHS is becoming increasingly difficult. Couples have to meet specific criteria to be considered:

– BMI under 30

– Both parents must not have a living child (including adopted children)

– Age restrictions – usually under 35

– Couples must have unexplained fertility for over 3 years

Couples are left with 2 options:

1) Private IVF treatment in the UK costing over £5000 or

2) Private IVF treatment abroad costing half the price

Couples are looking for cheaper destinations. The UK & USA are the most expensive, followed by Europe (Spain and Cyprus), and finally the most affordable destination is India. At Amara Healthcare prices start at £1,800 per IVF cycle.

Indian hospitals are internationally recognized for their quality of care, modern facilities and equipment, international certifications such as JCI & NABH and highly qualified doctors – many educated in the UK, USA and Canada.

Amara Healthcare is based in London and works with over 150 private hospitals in India. They specialise in helping couples choose a hospital which best suits them. Consultations are FREE.

The Amara package includes the FULL cost of the treatment including medications and hospital stay. They help their patients with travel, accommodation and visas – the total package is still cheaper than having treatment in the UK.