Hi ladies,
I hope you are all safe and well during this strange time. I'm sure so many of you have had cycles cancelled (myself included) and are struggling with what is coming next.
I wanted to ask if anyone had heard of any London clinics (private or NHS) reopening soon?
We have 2 frozen embryos with the NHS but if they are not reopening until the end of the year I want to start planning for possible private options..
xxx
Hi sorry I can’t answer your question. I’m also wondering the same as I have 2 frozen embryos with nhs and would consider paying if nhs patients aren’t going to be seen for a while. It’s a horrible time for everyone 😢 hope your well as can be and stay safe xx
We’re at a private clinic in London and had a follow up appointment with them last week to review our last failed cycle. They’ve said until the HFEA relax the restrictions on treatment they will not be allowed to do anything. It maybe the case they will first be allowed to do pre-screening and other procedures, possible stims but that having transfers done may still be restricted for a while longer depending on medical advice. The private clinics will be able to get back up and running quicker than nhs ones I would imagine but it will depend on staffing (a lot have been helping out local hospitals understandably) and rules around social distancing given how invasive the procedures are. It’s really going to depend on HFEA and general medical guidance as to when cycles can start again. I seriously doubt even private clinics will be open before the summer is my thinking. Worse case I’m not expecting for us to be able to do another round this year (but maybe that’s just me being very pessimistic!). It’s totally shot. They’ll also have a backlog and I’m not sure whether they’ll be prioritising those people who were mid cycle when they had to cancel, or those who are a bit older/have low amh issues given that time might be getting critical for those patients. Who knows...
This is a great post Bistbee. I have been meaning to write a similar one myself. The HFEA website is the best place to check any news on clinics re opening. They update their site every few days it seems. Xx
Hi Millbanks. Not heard anything yet. Keep an on on hfea.gov.uk and our website fertilitynetworkuk.org for any news. Diane
thanks all 
xx
This is the latest from HFEA, as of today:
Restarting treatment
We are actively considering how best we can vary or revoke GD0014 to enable treatment to resume. The Authority met on Tuesday this week to consider the criteria against which any decision to resume fertility treatment should be made.
The Authority agreed that at this point in time, four criteria are particularly critical in any such decision:
that Government restrictions on social contact and travel are lifted or eased
that restarting fertility treatment would not have a negative impact on the NHS
that there was no evidence that Covid-19 impacted on the health of pregnant women or their babies
that fertility clinics are able to provide a safe service.
We now need to resolve the indicators or milestones that we shall use to assess progress against each criterion. We will be speaking to the UK Government and the devolved Governments, the NHS leadership, the professional societies (BFS/ARCS, RCOG), and licensed fertility clinics.
We also want to take this opportunity to remind clinics of their continuing responsibilities to their current patients, who may wish to have advice and counselling at this stressful time.
Our aim is for a safe and orderly restart of the sector where as many patients as possible can resume treatment as soon as possible.
hfea.gov.uk/treatments/covi...
xx
That’s great. Thanks for posting 👍🏼 Fingers crossed hey! Xxx
I was going to post a massive moan but I won’t bother as it doesn’t help anyone, just going to say hurry up coronavirus and go away so we can move on with our lives!!
ESHRE has just posted some fairly detailed recommendations but of course defer to local guidance. Hope that the HFEA gets their stuff together soon.
Me too! Thanks for the info xx
Am with a private clinic , they are also closed till further notice hun ..
My clinic updated us this week saying they were hoping to open in June/July. They are planning lots of new safety measures but ultimately need the HFEA to give the green light.
My clinic are planning to reopen in June but they are in the Czech Republic so will only be able to get back there when the flights get back up and running, I know its a very anxious time for us all xx
It is indeed. Fingers crossed for us all xxx
Hey! I called my NHS clinic to see if they at least had a plan for reopening, for instance for the waitlist would be organised. They had no plans they said, except that they would prioritise older patients over younger patients no matter where they had been in their cycle. Xxx
Sorry I can’t help with your actual question but are you sure they aren’t opening until the end of the year for FET? My clinic told me they are waiting for the HFEA guidance and that probably won’t be released until lockdown starts lifting elsewhere too.
Private clinics still doing FET?
Clinic timeline
European Clinics
Go private or risk staying with NHS?
Anyone willing to share their experience with IVF clinics in Greece?
