I am currently thinking about going back to the fertility clinic (nhs clinic at the womens hospital but i am privately funding) for ivf to try for baby no.2.
I have been left a little confused after today's phone call with the clinic. They told me to contact my gp who will refer us for ivf (which will take few months) and then to get ivf started that will take another few months because of the waiting list.
Now i expected there to be a waiting list which is why i contacted then to be added onto it, i just wasnt expecting to have to start from scratch back at the gp?
I wanted to know what everyone else here has experienced in this case.
Is it normal to need to go back via gp for a self funded ivf cycle or should i be able to just go straight to the clinic, as i would if i was going to any other private clinic?
Thanks!
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Hey there, I had NHS funded treatment in 2019 which resulted in my now 4 year old daughter. I ended up going to two clinics over the last two years (the first one had its licence suspended by the HFEA so we moved our embryo to another). Anyway, both clinics were happy just for us to self refer as we were self funding. They just wrote updates to my GP as they happened. So it does seem odd they want your GP to refer you, seems like they've got the wrong end of the stick, but I only have my own experience to go on.
To be honest i didnt think much of it until i was updating my sisters on the phone call and one of them mentioned they may have got it wrong as private wouldn't usually require gp referral. May be best for me to call them again tomorrow to clarify.
Hi, just wanted to know does your weight needs to be 77kg for the IVF if funded by nhs.. I feel as my weight is stuck between 78-79.. I have been working out 5 days a week since May and dieting… losing inches but the weight is stuck and have my hospital appointment in two weeks time..
Hey, I would presume it 77kg is for your BMI to be <30 for NHS funded treatment. I went through the same drama for my funding, it was so hard but I got there. Unfortunately gained a lot again and had to lose again over the last year or two to get private funded treatment as they have BMI limit of 35. The stress of it all made me worse which is mad I know.
Is your appointment the first one you are going for in your fertility journey? If you are not about to start treatment, I did something called the Fast 800 diet for a few weeks, a lot of the initial weight lost was water weight but then the actual weight comes off as well. Not recommended right near treatment, but might be enough to get you over the line . Good luck, you can do it!
hi, I went straight to the clinic. I didn’t see my GP, just booked a consultation with the clinic and started the process again. I think you are right, sounds like they have misunderstood you x
this is absolutely not my experience of self funding at an nhs clinic. Have you contacted the correct part of the clinic at our clinic there is a totally different set of phone numbers and admin team for self funding. My experience is you phone the self funding admin team who arrange a consultation for you (there was a bit of a wait for that) then they determine protocol then you pay then can phone up with next period to get started. You dont get priority over nhs patients ie if they are full that month you might need to wait until the next one but there is absolutely no waiting list and no gp referral required for self funding. I then got the same team nurses treatment etc as I did when I was on the nhs it was just admin side that was different. Defo phone back and ask why you would need a GP refer all and why there is a wait list when you are paying privately, and if there is go elsewhere for sure! Xx
I had this too. Didn't really understand it but I had to go via a referral from the GP too, but it was relatively straightforward. I explained to the GP that I was self funding and just needed them to refer me before the clinic would see me. They obviously had it on record that I had a previous NHS round and frozen embryos so they didn't ask any questions and sent the referral there and then whilst on the phone. I then contacted the clinic to follow up and ensure they got the referral and was given my first appointment date and time.
It is odd but assume it's just a tick box exercise for them! 🤷🏼♀️
Seems like this mag be the case for them by the sounds of it. I dont mind the wait its just it feels like their process is a little weird when ive previously had 3 fets with them and they still have my embryos
Yeah it is bizarre. I questioned it at the time too but they kinda just said it was their process. You think if they are storing your embryos it would be a simpler!
This seems insane! I have 3 rounds of ivf privately and looked at a few clinics but was never asked to see my gp and was certainly not referred. It’s essentially private health care. I paid for the appointments?
Getting a gp appointment in the first place would be the first hurdle!!
We went to the clinic to discuss baby number 2 and it was self referral, they hadn’t even mentioned my GP due to now being a private patient! Maybe give them another call and just double check 🤞🏼 good luck! X
Process is same at my nhs clinic. Referral has to be done through gp again because its still an nhs clinic even tho your paying privately there's still a waiting list.
If you go private to a non nhs clinic you won't need a referral
Hi - am in Scotland and I was also privately funded but had to go via my GP. Took 4 months to get an initial appointment with the NHS university hospital clinic and took another 5 months with investigation appointments, donor sperm discussions, counselling appointments and then COVID happened so I didn't start start treatment until 2 years later.... Moved to a private clinic this year and it's alot faster. With hindsight I should have gone straight to private as I'd no time to lose. Hopefully you're not put in the same situation xx
Thank you all for commenting.Just an update, the clinic said they will refer me to their dr for a consultation to start treatment since theres been no change in my medical history since my last treatment.
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