NHS waiting period

[mojitoito]

Hi - does anyone know what the average waiting period is to hear from the Assisted Conception Services NHS Scotland? We were referred by our GP in February before the pandemic broke out, so I'm sure everything is slower now. But any idea of how long we will be waiting before we can see a doctor would be great to have. Would you suggest we give up on NHS and go straight to private? We are eager to get the process started while we are still young and have a better chance of success.

[LizzieBW]

Hi mojitoito,

I posted earlier about the ACS in Glasgow so not sure what part of Scotland you're in. To give you a little guidance we were referred for IVF late July 2019, the clinic closes over xmas and new year so we weren't seen until we actually reached the top of the waiting list in January and we were due to start our first IVF cycle in April when Covid hit so in total we would have waited 9 months (taking into account the delay over Christmas). You would prob still be looking at 6-9 months but I don't think the waiting list will be the issue, I think the backlog of women waiting to commence treatment again could be your problem as we're now looking at a possible delay of another 3-6 months ourselves 😒 However, I don't want to put you off waiting for nhs treatment as it's free!!! (may be different waits in different parts of the country) and may go in much quicker than I anticipate but thought it was worth sharing my experience xx

[Twiglet2]

Hey also a Glasgow acs patient here. We were referred from GP in Feb 2016 and didn’t actually get to start IUI until 2017 because we had to do fertility tests first (at another hospital because we are not Glasgow council) and then there was a 9month waiting list and then more paperwork etc. Before we could get started at the royal. I don’t know the current wait times from after fertility tests to getting started I would imagine they are a few months longer than normal due to COVID as we all wait to get restarted. I also don’t know if you’ve already had the required testing and will go straight on the waiting list but hopefully that gives you some idea of timescales to help you decide whether you want to go private instead/whilst you wait. Good luck xx

[Bahubali-2]

Dear mojitoito,

depending on the hospital.

Maybe the tool can help you - just select specialty and the hospital you are looking for.

medbelle.com/waitlist

It has not all hospitals in it and it estimates only the number of people waiting - but maybe it gives you an orientation.

Cheers.