Hello, my partner and I have now been referred to the NHS fertility clinic. Can anyone share their experiences of what happens next (we're based in scotland so any up here would be especially helpful!)? It's been a long road to get here and as I'm 37, we're not sure if we're better trying to pull the money together to go private and just crack on as the waiting list for a first consulation is 5 months. For background, my partner has had a low sperm count on his first test (2million/mL) but after some lifestyle changes, managed to boost this by his second test (to 34 million/mL!), we've been ttc for a year now. As his first test was subfertile, but his second was not, I'm unsure if we'd be eligible for IVF before 2 years ttc - has anyone had anything similar? What actually happens when you're referred? Would they investigate other causes of infertility (we checked my AMH privately and all good, but I have horrendous periods and can never get the doctors to investigate that, but could be tied in)? And how long does everything take?
What happens after NHS fertility refe... - Fertility Network UK
What happens after NHS fertility referral?
Hi..
the clinic will want to run some baseline tests.. more bloods, scan for yourself.. probably a further semen analysis for your partner. If you’re over 35 you are eligible for IVF so you’d have to wait for funding. They really should try to find out a cause first.. have you ever had a hycosy to ensure your fallopian tubes aren’t blocked?
If you have the money I would honestly scrap treatment at home and go abroad. We moved to a clinic in Athens and they are amazing. The NHS put everyone on the same protocol, nothing is individualised, you never get to see the consultant! We had military funding so we were classed as private and we still received the same bog standard care. The logistics of going abroad is stressful but it’s 100% worth it for compassionate, individualised care.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. I didn't realise treatment was standardised on the NHS so definitely something to consider there. I'll look into the hycosy too - we got initial tests done privately and I was surprised they advised jumping straight to IVF. So hard to know what to do! Thanks again.
you’re welcome xx it blows my mind clinics jump straight to IVF without doing basic tests such as a hycosy
hey Scotland based here- I’ve had both nhs and private treatment so happy to answer any of your questions. Have you had the test yet to check your tubes are clear etc? The wait even after consultation can still be quite a while as after all your tests the decide which wait list to put you on (IVF or IUI etc) then when you get to the top of the list there’s lost a of admin for another few months. You can also self fund at the nhs clinic which basically gives you the same treatment but means no wait list (but still the admin wait) but you do still need a consultation for that and I would say have any of the expensive tests on the nhs first (like the tubes check one I mentioned) Or you can self fund at a fully private clinic (but these are usually more expensive). I would also ask them if this affects your nhs entitlement as you might be able to do both ie be on the apt list and try a private round in the mean time. They told us as long as no frozen embryos left or successful pregnancies it shouldn’t affect nhs eligibility having a private round but I have saw others being told different xx
Thanks for your reply - thats really helpful. I havent had my tubes checked, only some basic blood tests so far. Hopefully they'll test me further when we get the appointment through. I didn't realise it may be possible to try private while on the NHS waiting list - I'll definitely investigate that too. Thank you!
Hi - am Aberdeen based and went private (am single) through the local NHS clinic. The first thing they did with me was an internal ultrasound to count follicles, HyScopy to check tubes and ask my GP to run base blood tests, then I had two sessions with a counsellor. If I had a crystal ball I'd go back in time to 2019 and tell myself to go private immediately. You might have a great experience with the NHS and it might all work out. But given the time the NHS take and, like HelzBelz has said, the fact that they put everyone on the same standard protocol, you won't get bespoke treatment until you've had 3 miscarriages (I had two chemicals and gave up with them as they wouldn't run any other tests just kept telling me I was old). Reality of it is that if you can afford to pay then you're better to get on with the process asap given how time sensitive this process is. You can see more details on my bio page but it took the NHS about 10 months to get referred, get tests, have counselling and then told to look at sperm and by that time COVID had hit and the whole thing shut down for about 2 years. I started my first IUI 3 years after referral. Ive since gone private in London and it's costing a small fortune (double price of NHS) ...really my only problem since going private though has been that my GP refuses to deal with me - they won't help with blood tests (I had a private blood test that showed I had slight hypothyroidism and rock bottom testosterone) and bright red bleeding but they refused to treat me so had to get private prescriptions from my clinic instead. Happy to chat further if you want to DM. Good luck with your decision otherwise xx
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with me, it sounds like an incredibly frustrating few years - I had a read of your profile and sending hope that it works if you are trying again. The time pressure is so intense, I already feel like I'd have done things differently over this past year if I could go back, so I really appreciate the advice. Thanks again 
Hello, we were referred from our GP to forth valley subfertility unit in May 2023 (my bloods and his analysis done through the GP had not flagged anything up) we met with a nurse at the end of July 2023, this was just a check that we had healthy lifestyle etc, she did an internal ultrasound but I cannot remember what they were looking for. She recommended an HSG to check my tubes and this was done August 2023. We got the all clear from this at the start of October 2023 and as we had been ttc for 2years we were able to ask for an IVF referral. We were referred to ninewells, had our first appointment in April 2024 and started treatment in August 2024. Sorry cannot give any info on going private as we have decided to max out anything we can get from the NHS first
You basically wait. From gp referral-after having completed basic semen analysis, female hormones and diagnostic laparoscopy with hydrotubation- to starting injections it took us over 18 months. Covid closure were responsible for approximately 6 months of this delay. But after the referral I had a nurse appointment at the clinic approximately 3 months into the wait, to tell me I will be on the waiting list. They also checked eligibility at that app (bmi, smoking, children to previous relationships etc) and then about 6-7 months after /this app I had my AMH checked and was given a protocol to start in 2 months after this but covid happened and it took another 6 months or so. No other investigations happened while waiting to start injections. I hope you are lucky and the NHS cycle (s) are enough for you but most people will need to continue treatment privately or self-funding at the same clinic. So my advice will be to save money. It is tempting to skip NHS if you can afford it but IVF it is a numbers game the more attempts the more chances for a live birth.
Personally I wouldn't start privately first nhs later because in most areas any private treatment is deducted from the NHS entitlement. So if you are allowed 2 cycles with NHS and you already paid for one privately then NHS will only give you one.
Obviously you can go abroad and not mention it to the NHS later, they have no means or time to check this. But a lot of people would say this is not right etc and medically your first cycles would have given you information about what works for you and what not which would be a waste of time not to pass on to you next clinic.
My experience from the NHS fertility clinic wasn't the best and that's because of the usual systemic issues NHS has, waiting times, awful communication and administration , you are like a number to them, no genuine personalised care. Of course there were some great nurses and doctors but ehen the system is faulty the contribution of some individuals gets lost in the overall picture.
To answer your question about the 2 years I think you will have to wait another year to be added to waiting list. Unless they deem natural conception impossible before this. So it depends on your diagnosis.
I also want to add that the grass isn't always greener abroad.i continued my treatment in Greece and eventually I had DE treatment there too. If I am honest whilst our first OE cycle there was fantastic, at the end I wasn't very happy with them too mostly issues around coordination and communication, felt like we were already customers so they didn't need to try as hard, but I was tired and emotionally drained and couldn't face starting from scratch with a new clinic.
Referral timing?
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