GRRR - WAITING LISTS

[maz]

Well girls

Just to let you know that this is a long winded affair!!!

I went for my CD3 blood tests this morning - apparently these results are used to determine the medications that I will take before my IVF treatment. Well firstly, the nurse tried to take blood from my left arm - up until my vein collapsed (what's that all about? Never had that happen before). She eventually got the blood from my right arm. Anyhow, I asked what happened next and she gave me a telephone number to phone and they'd tell me how long it would take.

Well - once my DH gets his SA done (20th May), we will go onto the review appointment waiting list, which at present is booking into mid October. Never heard the like of it - a review appointment waiting list ... GRRRR. Then, once that's been done we'll go on the NHS waiting list which depending whether we are IVF or ICSI will be somewhere between 13 and 16 months. What a bloody joke!!!! However, if we are happy to pay there are free slots at the hospital that could be available approx 4 months after our review appointment, so at the very earliest its going to be Jan/Feb 2009 before we start treatment.... Paying for free slots costs around £3k (inc medics).

Now we are seriously looking into whether we should just forget about the NHS side of things and go private. We have a totally private clinic in our area, but the fees could be at least £5k. Although we could be starting treatment as soon as two - three months. I don't know what to do. It's an awful lot of money for a 35% chance of success ...

So it looks like we have three choices :

1 Wait goodness knows how long for the NHS
2 Wait approx 8 months and pay £3k for a free slot at the hospital
3 Go totally private and pay approx £5k+ and have no real waiting time

I wonder if we go private do we have to have all the tests done again, or will the private clinic use the hospital results...??

Have any of you girls thought about going private for treatment?

 

[Heidi77]

Hi Maz,

Sorry to hear about your nightmare waiting lists. I must admit me and hubby have gone private, we never really thought to go through the NHS cos we knew the waiting would just be too long. I must admit that even privately they seem to be busy and its a struggle to get suitable appointments when having to work as well!!! I suppose its a case of what is my priority!!!!

 

[wannabmum]

Hi we are also going private starting ICSI soon ment to be June after wedding but looks like it will be July now as AF decided to come early n muck things up which mean she prob gonna show just before rather than just after wedding and dont think makes sence to be going threw all injections then, anyway we got really good clinic 53% sucess rate for our age group they didn't re do test if they had already been done they just got copies. goog luck whatever you decide!!xx

 

[NeyNey]

Hi there, I'm a private patient. But I guess it's different in Australia. I joined a private health fund back in January. There is a 12 month wait for coverage for IVF so we still have around 8 months until we can begin, but thats ok because we're trying other things first. We will have full coverage for IVF so thats a plus.


Those waiting lists you've been told are criminal!! How pathetic

 

[maz]

Wannabmum and Heidi77 - where do you guys live? We would definitely travel to mainland UK if the clinics had a higher success rate or was slightly cheaper. Our concern would be paying over £5k for treatment with only a 35% success rate, and then find that it doesn't work.

Do the clinics you are going to for treatment have a website that we can look through?

And do you guys have a private health plan like neyney that would part fund the treatment? I have a company private medical insurance, but it doesn't seem to cover infertility treatments.

Thanks guys

 

[porkpie1981]

hi there! Where are u in northern ireland?

 

[Arcanegirl]

I know your frustration with NHS waiting lists, its taken us a year and a half to get to the point of starting IUI

 

[wannabmum]

Hi, I'm in Scotland our clinic is in Glasgow here the website https://www.gcrm.co.uk/ all prices etc are on here.xxx

 

[Heidi77]

Hi NeyNey,

I am in Essex and I believe the clinic has a website, its called ISIS and is based in Colchester. From memory I think it cost £4k.

 

[Heidi77]

Sorry forgot to answer the bit about insurance, we do have private medical insurance but none of them provide cover for something like this.

 

[maz]

hi there! Where are u in northern ireland?

I live in carrickfergus. Went to dundonald for the initial investigations as I've been an inpatient there before and liked it as a hospital. Now at the royal for the treatment - whenever that starts ...

Where are you?

 

[porkpie1981]

I live in dundunald. I went to the royal to have my lo as i have heart problems. I was also going with my last one but had a mc.

Hope all goes well for u

 

[Carlyanne15]

Oh honey, waiting lists are utta crap.
If this was me and i had the money i would opt for option 3, i know its costly but i dont think i could bear the wait

Thinking of you
C x

 

[maz]

Oh honey, waiting lists are utta crap.
If this was me and i had the money i would opt for option 3, i know its costly but i dont think i could bear the wait

Thinking of you
C x

I'd love to go totally private - truth is we could probably afford it, but I would be worried that it wouldn't work. From what I've researched the success rate is approx 38% - not fantastic odds really. Hubby would be giving up on his range rover to pay for it and I would be gutted that we'd spent that amount and then it not work.

Having spoken to DH the last few days, we are going to see if we can get our review appointment done privately, and then go on the waiting list for the private treatment at the hospital, which should see us starting around October/November. We'd rather wait another couple of months and save a couple of thousand. At least that way we could afford another cycle if needs be ...

xx