London women's clinic

[Suders]

I appreciate this message will be some time after my wife and mines experience at LWC but I feel the need to share.

In October 2015 I had my 3rd round IVF at LWC and whilst we had become a little tired of the poor processes we decided to give them another go as it's hard work to keep changing clinics and go through all the processes and extra costs again. I can say that turned out to be a mistake as the whole final round was a nightmare from the fact they pretty much tried nothing different to the previous 2 times and only at my asking what they wer going to do differently. Anyway on the day of embryo transfer I got various conflicting messages between the morning and afternoon on how many embryos should be transferred and was left lying on the table with 3 nurses watching whilst I was told to make a decision. Awfully stressful and they gave no advice. Anyway after that I dutifully carried on with my drugs and did my pregnancy test 2 weeks later. 2 pregnancy tests were negative but I was in constant agony and was told it was all just to do with the drugs post ivf. Anyway I carried on bleeding even after my period was due to have stopped and I was still in agony. Email advise was just to say that it would go away. Which of course it didn't .. eventually we ended up at with a list of complaints seeing the "senior consultant" at the clinic to discuss a number of procedural complainants about LWC but also requested they check me given I was still bleeding and in pain. Anyway 1 scan at the clinic by the senior consultant and a urine test I was told there was nothing. Perhaps I should take come birth control tablets because of the pains perhaps being linked to hormones. Anyway off I went .. 1 week later I was still unwell and went back to the clinic yet again. A further pregnancy test (negative) and Scan done again a the Cluniac I was given the all clear given. This time however after pushing I was asked to go and have a blood test to test for the human grow hormone. Just having got home they called say I had to go to A&E as I had a possible ectopic pregnancy. Anyway over the next 2 days I ended up having scans and surgery in hospital for a rupturing ectopic pregnancy. I received no acknowledgment from LWC in their part of completing missing it twice during scansand failing to advise appropriately given my symptoms. I will never recommend LWC as a result of both their poor care and diagnosis as well as poor processes. My wife out if interest also had 2 rounds of her own IVF a LWC and had simlair poor experiences overall eventhough there were some lovely staff. In a nutshell don't suggest to use.. proved to be a very expensive lesson.

[Blueroses99]

Gosh your description made me think ectopic so I'm shocked that the medical professionals missed it. I'm sorry that you had to go through that but hope you recovered well.

[broodypsycho]

So sorry about the rigmarole you and tor wife went through. We were doing private tests with LWC and we're debating whether we have ivf with them. Luckily were on the NHS now and hopefully we won't have to wait no more than 6 months .

[Bear2014]

So sorry you had to go through all that. It sounds awful.

Just to provide a bit of balance though, we have been with the LWC since 2013 and had our DD through them in 2014. We've been having treatment again this year and although we haven't been successful yet, we have always found them to be excellent and they are making changes to my protocol to try and ensure success. Every time I have a consultation, I feel like I can ask a lot of questions and they are very informative.

We are a same sex couple too and know a few other couples who have had babies through the clinic.

Wishing you all the best of luck in future.

[sunshinegirl12]

This is a bit concerning as DH and I have just signed up to the 3 cycle package with LWC. Obviously it is still very early days for us but so far we have been happy with everything x

[sunshineonarainyday1]

I can't fault the lwc Cardiff one bit....have been amazing during the treatment I received conceiving dd1 and the baby I'm currently carrying.

I think if you look at all clinics someone will have a negative story to tell.

[Dips36]

I completely agree with you. I had 2 cycles IUI with them and found them not at all compassionate. They don't value your time at all. When I made complaint about the process they said to me JOIN ANOTHER CLINIC!!!! When I was due to start treatment in 5 days. I said it will take time so I want to do 3rd one here, on this the a senior doctor said so what, do it after a month! That just put me into tears, hearing someone talk to you like that. When you are paying so much.

I had an appt at LWC Harley Clinic 10am with doctor and I saw the doctor walk in at 10:05am in the waiting area made a coffee and then called me at 10:20am after enjoying his coffee. I took time off work for this appt and this is how professional and considerate the staff.

PLEASE DONT IGNORE THESE REVIEWS... LONDON CLINIC STAFF IS AWFUL. We are just a number for them.

[Dips36]

Don't do with LWC. There are loads of other clinics who may provide better service. But this clinic will for sure provide awful service.

They have no passion in what they do.

[Viletta]

I’m with them and so far all staff is really great! I find them very companionate and patient. I felt like they gave me all info I need. I’m in the middle of the protocol so not sure if I had any success yet. The only thing to say that I never complaint or had any complications so can’t judge on how they respond to that...

[RaquelASF]

AWFUL experience at LWC yesterday!

We went for a consultation in order to get a second opinion, after doing some exams and consultations with the NHS and with another doctor abroad, who gave us slightly different views. The "consultant", named Giulia (or sth similar), had a very bad attitude from the moment she came into the reception, as if she was doing me a favour!

She had reviewed the NHS documents and said they wouldn't do any tests because the letter from the NHS doctor was clear and went straight talking about egg donation options. Absolutely no tact to treat such a sensitive matter for me, and rude in the way she was rushing through the appointment! We had a much better service at the NHS, the staff there were always wonderful at Guys Hospital!

We were looking for a second opinion at the LWC and all they did was refer back to the NHS letter and ignore the opinion of the other doctor overseas who recommended us to try to get eggs of my own as there can still be a possibility. She also didn't seem to have any depth of knowledge either, and kept repeating that with my high FSH there is nothing that can be done, while ignoring the other factors that my doctor abroad had pointed out.

My feedback is that, if you are paying a private consultation expecting that you'll speak with a real doctor, you won't! They have these trained consultants who can basically put you through a checklist with no regard for your unique individual reality!

[1Wanda1]

I'm 24 weeks pregnant after treatment at LWC. We found them to be quite mixed in terms of bedside manner but overall ok.

My impression from reading posts on this board is that most IVF clinics can be a bit conveyor-belt in style. We didn't love LWC but it was ok, and I am pregnant.

[DeniseHoward]

i also paid for 3 lots of IVF at LWC and was treated terrribly - i am gutted as i wasted 2.5 years . i am now at IVI chester and so different so fingers crossed. i would never go near LWC again - awfuk clinic!

[Viletta]

I've noticed most clinics are offering sperm or egg donation as if it's nothing... and are even surprised when you say that's not an option..

[Coll2460]

Hello can anyone give me information regarding the counselling they received from the LWC. Such as what it is in regards to? did you find it informative? just a little confused in what the counselling is for and when do you receive it? before or after insemination. Thank you

[Viletta]

@Coll2460 hi there, the counseling is over the phone before the IVF. It's generic but the lady is very nice. They offer free session as well after the test result. I was afraid they would try to phycoanalyse me but I think the counseling was just a box ticking excessive. Maybe helpful for someone who doesn't have or know anything about support groups.

[ChocolateGateaux84]

It's a terrible clinic don't touch with barge pole
Don't know anyone who's ever had a positive result from them

[Pleaseletitbeme]

Gosh I’m so surprised to hear this!
I can’t complain about my care. Even though I suspect my first ET has failed.
They have been excellent.

[facevalue]

oh dear . we paid for a consultation. you ladies scared me now. has anyone been under the london bridge clinic. walking in, the atmosphere and reception staff seem really lovely so far. i wonder if it was the harley street clinic that is a money machine? oh dear i'm worries now x goodluck to us and everyone going through LWC

[IQMEN]

Feels like we're being totally ripped of here by The London Women's Clinic. My wife and went an open day a few weeks ago and decided to progress with donor eggs after 5 failed IVFs elsewhere. We had a pleasant consultation headed home, looked at the register and bought the eggs (£4250) and enquired about next steps. It occurred to us that at no point had anyone sat us down and talked through prices, but we thought that would come at some stage.



We then get a single line invoice, which reads "donor egg recipient" for £6+k. I thought that was odd as we'd already bought our eggs, so I went back explaining this. I was told the £6+k was a package cost for the rest of our treatment, so I asked if the price could be broken down in the invoice, to which I was told no, as their policy is to bundle everything up and it was impossible to break the package we had bought down. This was the first I'd heard about any package we'd bought so I went on the website where LWC continually prides itself on its " price transparency".

So I look at all of the "packages" they offer and I notice there is treatment minus buying the eggs package almost identical to what remains of our package for £4k (egg thaw, fertilisation and embryo transfer cycle). Great this is what we want, so I go back asking why the remainder of our "package" is coming in over £2k more expensive that this package, we have our eggs, which we bought from LWC so with this in mind our package should be discounted not sold at a premium as we have spent more. After phone calls and emails over 3 weeks with nobody at the clinic being able to explain this I finally get an email (when I was promised a call) from the CFO. He explained that the £4k package was offered to couples who had undergone IVF and were using their own eggs and because they had undergone quite an outlay in the past they are offered a discount.

So I have another look at the price list, 1. its not a discount, its the advertised price. Two. nowhere in the pricing section of the LWC website does it say the £4k package is for IVF couples only. Three LWC offers IVF at virtually the same price (£300 more) as buying donor eggs so donor egg couples are being charged another £2k for absolutely nothing extra, but its all being hidden within an opaque packaging structure. This is still not resolved, has anybody else queried this with LWC in the past?

[Morpho123]

i went to an open day a LWC in Brentwood last Saturday. I have to say it was very informative but defiantly not as 'friendly' as other open days iv attended. they didn't make you feel so welcome, and were quick to throw up the actually surgical processes were in London - which isn't idea for someone in Essex. the stress of getting to London and back after an egg collection/transfer isn't something id like, and also not seeing the same doctors/nurses.
all in all, I walked out wishing never to go back. it didn't feel like a personal journey, the reception staff are rude, this is not what we are paying for. we need empathy and someone to understand our journey!

wishing you all the best of luck and hope there is light at the end of this tunnel x

[1misha1]

My daughter attended the LWC and believed she was in a relationship. As soon as she was pregnant her partner left her that week for another woman. My daughter is now in a bitter court dispute and her baby has suffered. My daughter has little rights and her ex partner and girlfriend want to share this child.

[SandCessex]

Sorry for the long post,
We initially contacted London Womens Clinic regarding IVF treatment in 2018. Our local LWC was based in Brentwoods Nuffield Hospital. We found the staff at Brentwood Nuffield very helpful and explained the process. We finally started the process in 2019 and everything was going fine. We found out that some friends were also going through similar treatment, however their chosen 'hospital' did things slightly different to LWC. As their pregnancy progressed, we started to question the way certain things were done by the LWC and why was their hospital doing things differently to LWC. We understand each case and hospital can be different. We had to then go to Harley Street for the transfer. We had a embryo transfer at the end of 2019. While having the transfer one of the nurses commented that they were short staffed because a number of staff had left. Again this started to raise flags but as we had already paid our money we couldn't now change. Sadly a few weeks later the test came back that the transfer hadn't worked. We then had a second transfer at the beginning of 2020. Again things seemed to go well and shortly after we took the test and it came back positive. As you can imagine we were over the moon. Shortly before, the lockdown took place, we were running out of medication so called LWC Nuffield only to be told they would be shutting the following day and I would need to order my next lot of medication there and then. It was just by luck I had called them as it didnt appear I would have been told otherwise. Sadly a few weeks later I suffered heavy bleeding. LWC hadn't provided us with any form of contact since they were closed. I was taken to our local NHS hospital who did tests. Sadly 2 weeks later I was told I had had a missed miscarriage. We hadn't heard anything from LWC.....until the day of the miscarriage. We then got an email from them (obviously sent out automatedly) and it was something along the lines of explaining all the things to look forward to when the baby arrives. Very distasteful!!! If they had bothered to check on their patients, they would know their situation. We tried contacting the LWC on an emergency email. The emergency email sometimes took 3 days to reply. When it was replied to, the information was either incorrect or they didn't know. It was then down to our own NHS GP to help us. We understand that some of their staff may have been sent elsewhere but they should have provided more staff to answer their 'emergency' emails. We continued to get generic emails from the LWC about pregnancy etc. They clearly have no interest in their patients once they had got their money.
When we found the clinic was now taking emails, we contacted them with our complaint. We explained our situation and found their service very disappointing. We had basically been left to fend for ourselves. They said they would follow their complaints procedure and we should have a reply in 21 days. Over 6 weeks later, we finally got a reply. The email was only a couple of lines and we were told that we should have had clearer information and if we wished, we could have a free consultation to 'restore our faith in them'. We certainly wouldn't use them again and wouldn't recommend them. Whilst we don't blame the nurses at Brentwood we do have issues with the way they are run. They do seem to be a money grabbing machine. It was unsurprising to see they were recently ranked one of the lowest fertility clinics in the UK.

[LifetoCherish]

Where do I start!

1. Only seen a doctor once with no explanation of our protocol. This was our first ivf. One more to go with them (package via access fertility) although if we can change clinics we will. I have had to google every single part of our protocol as it happened to understand how and why were we put on that protocol. Nurses didn’t seem to want to tell us, like we were annoying them. Was too scared to call or ask questions in the end. Initially I was a poor responder and from that point made to feel like I’d mess their stats up so didn’t take care of us after this.
   
2. Due to COVID we had to travel from Essex to Harley st to be seen/procedures. Reception staff rude, unhappy looking.
   
3. Harley st was filthy. Digs and dirt up the walls, threadbare dirty sofas. Paint stain on sink. You’d think during the lockdown they could have used the time to spruce up the place, using our hard earned cash/savings.
   
4. I am currently waiting to hear from them, they promised I’d hear from them today as I had a negative test response yesterday. I’m sat in agony with period that turned up during progesterone use. No reply/explanation or next steps as suggested.
   

Overall I have had much better service from the NHS for a cold etc. When you pay privately you expect a level of common courtesy, cleanliness and professionalism. They hugely lack being friendly and any empathy.

[seekingsolace1]

@sunshineonarainyday1

I can't fault the lwc Cardiff one bit....have been amazing during the treatment I received conceiving dd1 and the baby I'm currently carrying.

I think if you look at all clinics someone will have a negative story to tell.

@sunshineonarainyday1 hi, could you share your experience with LWC Cardiff a bit more? With regards to cost and time it took (if you don't mind) I'm looking to start initial fertility treatments there or the one at Bristol. Thanks

[ShineOn21]

@Suders I'm so sorry to hear what you and your partner went through. I realise too that you posted a few years ago now so not sure if you're still on here, but I wanted to to know if you ever took this further? Did you receive and kind of compensation or did you ever get lawyers involved?
I'm asking because I'm currently going through a simillar-ish situation with treatment going wrong and I've been told repeatedly by them that it's nothing to worry about .... I've now spent over 3 nights in NHS hospital after two A&E visits. I'm still suffering now. I believe they have been negligent with my aftercare and I wasn't fully informed of the procedure risks. I'm horrified that they are trying to charge me for any aftercare costs (scans and blood tests) seeing as they failed to take any action when I went to them several times with serve symptoms only to be told it's normal and it'll get better on it's own - NOT THE CASE. I'm on antibiotics from NHS after they were able to rule out a bowel perforation but suspected an abscess / infection due to the egg retrieval procedure, plus hyper-stimulation of the the ovaries. All of this was missed by the clinic.
Any advice from anyone who has had to take matters further with LWC would be greatly appreciated.