IVF on the NHS - Harrow CCG

[ttcrainbowbabypatel]

Hi guys,

I hope you can help.

Since I have no fallopian tubes anymore, I went to an NHS referral appointment to see if under my CCG, I am eligible for any NHS treatment for IVF. I've had one private round before.

To summarise, the appointment was confusing and disjointed. The doctor spent most of the time advising me on things and realised he was on the wrong CCG's website. When he clarified, he said I'm eligible for one round and then said that although the CCG website says that even if I had two rounds of privately funded treatment, I can have one round on the NHS but in his opinion, I should wait to hear that from the clinic itself rather than the website he got the information from.

He couldn't give me any estimation on how long it may take from referral to treatment. He also couldn't confirm which hospital I would be receiving treatment at but I think it's Hammersmith.

He and his wife were patients there and he said that the treatment was ok but of course, the NHS is limited in what it can provide.

Has anyone been there? What were your experiences like?

How can I find out which hospital I'd go to so I can contact them for more clarification? I'm frustrated that the GP couldn't even give me a solid starting point. He seemed like he didn't want to confirm anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thank you!

[leo1980]

Hello! Sorry I can’t be much help but I do know a couple - completely random. My dog likes to play with theirs and we just happen to walk our dogs at the same time everyday in the same park. This couple are expecting their first child anytime now and they had NHS funding for IVF at Hammersmith. They didn’t wait long and they got it right first time (she said they had two IUI treatment too on the NHS) They were most complementary about the service.. I almost wish I lived in that area! But I defo don’t qualify for it on NHS... If I can tactfully ask more questions I will ask tomorrow and post it on here for you!

[Hidden]

Hi

To be fair to GPs they cant know everything about every referral process despite it being extremely important to you so please dont take that as him/her not caring. Its also probably better that he/she didnt promise you things that you might not get or get your hopes up. The CCG website is the best place to go for information re criteria and what you qualify for. Ivf funding is still a post code lottery and so individual CCGs fund different treatments. You should be able to find a contact number for your CCG and speak to them. Your CCG is dependent on the location of your GP practice.

We kept contacting our GP practice to give them the nudge for sending the referral. We received an apt letter from our local hospital approx 2-3 weeks after wed had the apt with the GP. Which we didnt think was too bad. As off yet we havent had that apt and so we dont know what the waiting list is like.

I hope this sheds a bit of light.

Good luck x