Complaining to clinic

[Crie1983]

Hi, after TTC for a year we contacted a private fertility clinic in Jan 2021. After the initial consultation I had blood tests and my partner semen analysis. Very slightly low AMH came back but it was recorded as unexplained infertility. After 3 failed cycles and 1 success that ended in a MC I saw a gynaecologist who examined me, scanned me and diagnosed a highly likely hydrosalpinx. I got a 2nd opinion and that gynaecologist requested a scan & mri and confirmed hydrosalpinx. A laparoscopy ended in both tubes being removed, one completed blocked and other badly damaged. I have asked my fertility clinic why it wasn’t picked up but haven’t officially raised a complaint. They have been pretty non committal saying it could have been a recent thing (which I’m pretty convinced it wasn’t) and they have even suggested wait for the outcome of my final transfer and if it fails I can raise it. They never once suggested they look at my tubes before embarking on treatment and just put each failed cycle and MC down to nothing that could have been done differently just wasn’t meant to be. I feel like I should raise a formal complaint but could do without the stress and the clinic actually has good ratings. I’m also afraid how it might impact using them in future - would they treat me any differently for example. Anyone have experience of a similar situation or has raised a complaint against their clinic. I’m genuinely not looking to blame anyone if it was just one of those things but pretty astonished it was never picked up and they’d have continued collecting eggs & transferring when I never really had a hope. Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks all.

[Hidden]

I am sorry you have had to go through this, do you know your condition would definitely cause MC or failed rounds?

I am in a similar situation where I have done six fresh rounds and essentially wasted five years doing IVF including various miscarriages and being told it was just bad luck and keep trying again and then gone to a difference clinic and had one scan and found something that would cause both MCs and implantation failure and could well be the reason we are in the position we are in. We have now been going so long my eggs are toast and now we have to go donor. I am quite upset about it but I haven’t complained as I am not sure what it achieves. I think my clinic was well intentioned and just had different tests and protocols to the second clinic I went to. They treated me based on what they saw and not doing certain types of scans meant they didn’t find the problem. However we also don’t know that now I’ve been operated on it will be the magic fix - the fact I was getting pregnant occasionally was enough for them to think things were ok. I just put it down to different processes and the fact I’ve just been unlucky x

[Crie1983 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for your reply and I’m really sorry to hear of your experience too.Both gynaecologists have told me that the fluid from the tubes is full of toxins which basically flush anything anyway. You can get pregnant but eventually would be flushed away.

I just feel angry that you put your trust in these clinics but it’s taken me referring myself elsewhere to diagnose the likely problem. I know I won’t achieve much by complaining but I also don’t want other women to have to go through this and feel like I’m owed some answers.

[Boo718 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Daisy I’m so sorry that you have gone through all this. Can I ask what they found? We are totally stumped after sooo many chemicals … something is stopping it xxx

[Gempuddleduck]

Hiya, I’m so sorry this has happened to you and I think your feelings are completely valid. Our reason for complaining was very different. Our clinic transferred a poorly graded embryo and whilst we understood there was a high chance of miscarriage, not once were we told that the embryo might grow into a poorly baby. It was at my 12 week scan that we found out the baby had Edward’s syndrome. We felt that after going through 5 rounds and spending around £50k; we could have been treated with a little bit more care and respect. We sent a long email to the head of the clinic who then contacted us and apologised and told us to go through him in future for everything. All our emails are responded to straight away and I feel we are treated better.

Remember that at a private clinic, you are not only a patient, but a client too and are paying a lot of money for their services. If it was a private school, and you were unhappy about your child’s education then you would complain. I don’t think there’s any harm in sending something. It doesn’t have to be OTT but will probably make you feel much better.

I hope you feel better, whatever you decide. 💕🍀

[Crie1983 in reply to Gempuddleduck]

Thank you for your reply and I’m sorry to hear what you went through, utterly devastating.Really appreciate the advice. Xx

[MissSaoPaulo]

I think you should definitely flag it up with them. Checking your tubes are clear is a pretty basic fertility check. I'm sorry you've had such a tough time, hopefully better times are coming xxx

[Crie1983 in reply to MissSaoPaulo]

Thanks for your reply, really appreciate your best wishes. X

[Jenniwenni]

Hi,I had a suspected hydrosalpinx, which was picked up on the day 10 scan before embryo transfer. I think when they do the scans, they should be checking everything looks ok (ovaries, tubes, the general area) but I may be wrong. My doctor always seems to do this.

Anyway, they cancelled my embryo transfer and said they didn’t want to do it before dealing with the fluid in the tube.

I ended up not having a hydrosalpinx (they did a laparoscopy to check). I was really grateful to them being so thorough.

I think you should be raising it, purely from the point of view of getting them to review their procedures. If they decide they’re procedures need improving, it’ll mean you’re helping to prevent the same happening to anyone else. And also, you may get some form of compensation. 🤞 It obviously depends how you feel. If you want to just move on, that would be totally understandable. 😘

I’m so sorry you’ve had this experience. It must be devastating. When I heard I had a suspected hydrosalpinx I just thought ‘maybe that’s why it’s not been working?’, and it’s just gutting. Hopefully now you’ve got it sorted, success won’t be far away. 🌈🤞🙏🏿💜

[Crie1983 in reply to Jenniwenni]

Thanks for your reply. I totally trusted the clinic to explore why I couldn’t conceive I figured they are the experts and feel so let down. The heartbreak of having failed cycles and a MC, not to mention the thousands of pounds feels even worse when it potentially could have been prevented.I appreciate your kinds words. Xx

[Seren0119]

Exactly the same happened to me and I wish I had made a compliant - you could sue them for damages (no win no fee) and get a lot of money in compensation x

[Crie1983 in reply to Seren0119]

I am really sorry to hear that you’ve also experienced this. Did you raise it at all with the clinic, even if it wasn’t an official complaint?

[Seren0119 in reply to Crie1983]

I didn’t because I couldn’t cope with the stress, but I also discovered it (with another clinic) before a transfer. If I had a miscarriage (which could have been caused by fluid) I would definitely have raised it xx

[Lozza8]

I complained to my clinic, not because there was something they didn’t find but more for how they treated me compared to the new clinic I went to. Both were nhs (the one I complained to was actually the private part of the nhs clinic, but same docs etc). I just complained with no agenda and actually said I didn’t need a reply or any recourse, it was more for my closure. It did make me feel more at peace with what happened. Your feelings are valid and you have a right to have them heard x

[Crie1983 in reply to Lozza8]

Thank you for the reply. I hope things are working out for you. Xx