Waiting time for NHS IVF approval

[Livinginoz]

During our last appointment (September) we were told we would be put forward for IVF and that the funding approval should come back in 4 weeks. It’s now been over 6 weeks. I know I’m being impatient but everything just seems to take forever!

Has anyone got any idea how long I should wait before chasing? Any idea where I would even chase it? Is it something I would ask the consultants’ secretary or is it now out of their hands?

Sorry - just feeling fed up and not getting anywhere 😞 We’ve known we will need IVF since pretty much this time last year but had to jump through various hoops to get to this point.

[Nabsal]

from how long you are waiting . Over all how much time they took

[Hopewhite]

hi , i hope you're well, I know how you're feeling , we had to wait nearly a year from GP to 1st treatment. In our experience what slowed us down was the GP, once we were referred to the fertility consultant (Feb 2023) it only took 4 months to get treatment (end of May 2023). I'd recommend you to chase with the PA or anyone you have a contact for at least they can confirm that the application was sent, etc., i did find a lot of time gets wasted in admin inefficiencies. E.g. we were told we needed blood tests before the funding application could be sent,, 2 weeks passed no form came in through the post, I rang them and they explained the doctor hadn't sign the blood form, I offered to pick it up as i live walking distance, and that help me to speed up things, a week later I asked the PA for confirmation that the funding request had been sent, and i knew the waiting started from then (24 Feb 23), we then had the call for consents at the end of Apr. Started stims on early May.

I know timelines will vary depending where you are, but we had been told 4-5 months from application point to start treatment in our first consultant call in Feb. Considering the funding application got send only end of Feb, it took more or less 3 months to treatment from that point.

all the best of luck! hope you get a response quickly and you can soon start your treatment x

[Livinginoz in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you so much, I think I’m just going to chase up with the secretary. Really appreciate your response 🙂 hopefully the funding comes back soon so we can get started! X

[Nabsal]

I have my first consultation end of this month then what’s next how long it will take

[Livinginoz in reply to Nabsal]

We had our first fertility consultation in June. Then had more tests (really to just confirm what we knew and check nothing had changed since tests were done by GP) and had the next appointment in September where they confirmed what the plan would be. Now we’re waiting for funding confirmation so we can start IVF ICSI.

Hope things move quickly for you! I’d recommend calling up for cancellation appointments, it helped us get seen quicker 🙂 x

[Nabsal]

oh wow I really like your suggestion I will start try from tomorrow thank you so much my dear. And best of luck for you

[Twiglet2]

everything takes forever on the nhs defo chase the last person you spoke with who told you it would be 4 weeks and they should point you in the right direction. I used to think I was being a pest but quickly realised you did have to advocate for yourself a lot and it’s not something that can ‘wait’ out of politeness. sometimes it just takes longer no matter if you chase it up but sometimes they realise they are running a bit behind or have forgotten something and speed it up for you so no harm trying. Good luck xx

[Livinginoz in reply to Twiglet2]

Thank you so much, I’ve emailed the secretary to see if I can chase it 🙂

[MiniCeeCee]

yeh agree, you’ll have to get comfortable becoming a bit of a pest to them. My friend who works in the NHS, told me just to keep ringing and emailing and following up. As individuals sadly we are just not on their radar, so definitely have to become our own advocates. Especially with the GP. Try and get specific names of doctors, consultants, secretaries, email addresses etc too where you can. I also found paper work got lost between GP and the fertility clinic, so ask for copies of test results too - either digital or paper. We spent 1 year 3 months getting from GP to referral sign off, then another 5 months to start the meds. So it is a long process and patience is needed, but hopefully all worth it in the end 🤞. Good luck!

[Livinginoz in reply to MiniCeeCee]

Thank you, I hate badgering people but I’ll just have to keep chasing! Trying to be patient but it just drives me mad!

[Tginger]

Keep chasing them! My Gynea consultant said mine should have come super quickly due to my age. However, it took three months just because of admin. Processing a referral for IVF is a very quick process. However, ours was just forgotten in someone's tray.

[Livinginoz in reply to Tginger]

Thank you so much! I actually chased today and apparently the funding has come back 🙂 hopefully not too long now! X