Private clinic before nhs?

[FrancyItaly]

Maybe it’s a stupid question, I just wanted to know if I have fertility treatments in a private clinic, do I still have a chance to have treatments in the future with nhs?

[Southwestcat]

Hi - My understanding is that you could have treatment if you are eligable which varies somewhat in each trust with the conditions of eligability / waiting lists and so on x

[Millbanks]

I was told by my consultant that the nhs is very strict about treating people who have gone private. They can disqualify you from treatment if they think you have paid privately. Best to keep it quiet x

[Peanutchips in reply to Millbanks]

I was wondering about this too. How would they know though?

[Millbanks in reply to Peanutchips]

You just have to not tell them I guess? 🤷🏼‍♀️

[KiboXX]

I think it varies depending on where you are so it’s worth checking your CCG guidelines x

[Hidden]

If you go private you will not be qualified for NHS treatment. Going private has its cons though. Depending on your age I would consider the private option if you can - save precious time

[AnnieAnnie]

I went private on my first ivf as at that time I was not eligible. I then became eligible for nhs funded cycles and received 2 free cycles. It differs between each clinical commissioning group. In my area as I only had 1 private I was still entitled to the 2 nhs. If I would have had 2 private rounds, i would not have then been eligible for the nhs funded rounds. Check the guidelines with your CCG xx

[Georgie17]

Depends on your ccg. I went down the nhs route and now private as I used all my nhs attempts. You get the same treatment either way so best to use the nhs option before being forced to pay for it all as it's expensive.

[LA-B-19]

As everyone else has said it depends on the CCG, mine’s guidelines say you can still be eligible if you’ve had private before. We were referred by our GP in Feb but because of the virus we have decided to do our first round privately and will look into NHS later if that doesn’t work.

[ttcemmie]

Hey lovely. Really depends on your CCG area. My area, I think, allows you to have two private rounds and they'll still treat you. I had one private before my NHS, as I just couldn't wait!

As Millbanks has said.... is it something you need to bring up to NHS if you have private treatment? I wish I had stretched the truth about how long we'd been trying as they wouldn't even see us until we'd been full-on properly trying for two years.... But really we've been not not-trying a lot of our relationship....

[FrancyItaly]

How can I find this info? I can’t find it anywhere. I will go private for now as I don’t believe the nhs reopened their fertility units.

[Cinderella5 in reply to FrancyItaly]

Why dont you give your clinic a ring and ask if having a private cycle would impact on your NHS funding etc?xx

[Solly-44]

My CCG counts any private treatment towards the number of cycles they fund.

So e.g if they fund 3 cycles and you’ve already had 1 privately, they would only allow you 2 NHS cycles x

[FrancyItaly]

It’s funny to see how different hospitals apply different rules?

I called mine and they told me I could still have nhs fertility treatment in future if I go to a private clinic now.

[Solly-44 in reply to FrancyItaly]

Ah that’s great news! Good luck whatever you decide

[AnnieAnnie in reply to FrancyItaly]

That's great news! When I went private I opted not to notify my GP of my private treatment. I was honest when it came to being eligible for nhs funded treatment though. But as far as I'm aware, if you go private, unless you consent to your private clinic passing on updates, there is no way of your GP or nhs clinic finding out what treatment has already been done privately. I notified my NHS clinic when it was necessary so that my new cycles could be changed slightly to the previous cycle xx

[Hidden]

Seems so many people are lucky to live in an area where even any NHS funding is given. I live in Hertfordshire and the GCG do not offer any. It’s so unfair this postcode lottery, I pay my taxes just as everyone else does yet no nhs funding for me. I ended up going private to the tune of £10k which I’ve had to take a loan out for. Thankfully it worked first time so fingers crossed it stays full term as wont be able to afford a second try.

[KiboXX in reply to Hidden]

Same here, I’m in Cambridgeshire where there is zero IVF funding. Whereas I have friends who live 15 miles down the road in Bedfordshire who got their rounds funded x