Research into NHS data has revealed huge discrepancies in the time it takes to access NHS fertility services in England.
In a league table of accessibility to fertility services, the city of Stevenage scored 13th on GP referral times, with patients having to wait on average 37 weeks from being referred by their GP to receiving fertility treatment, whereas people in Northampton were waiting 21 weeks on average.
The average wait time in England is 40 weeks.
The study was based on data collected from 550 NHS fertility clinics, analysing GP referral times, patient ratings, number of clinics per person, and waiting times for egg and sperm donors.
The research, carried out by My Expert Midwife, has revealed that Northampton, Twickenham and Croydon were the cities with the best access to fertility services, with particularly low GP referral times and higher ratings from patients.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bradford, Hemel Hempstead and Leicester ranked the lowest with the longest waiting times and fewer staff.
