Making an NHS Individual Funding Request for IVF

[Cariad82]

Hi all

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience making an IFR with the NHS? My sister in law is entitled to one round of IVF on the NHS and has been automatically referred to the local NHS hospital which has really poor results. She wants to have her NHS round at a local private clinic that accepts NHS patients. This clinic isn't automatically approved by her Trust though so she has to make an IFR and see if they will let her go there.

Has anyone else done one and what did you put on it? I just want to help her make the best application possible.

[Lauren83]

Usually they ask that the patient displays clinically exceptional reasons for the transfer of funding, usually things such as needing PGD, Donor eggs, Donor sperm are the ones that are accepted. I had to do one myself when I needed donor eggs years ago, some CCGs just won't budge especially when it isn't a clinic they use often

[Cariad82]

Thanks, I thought that might be the case. I'm not sure she has a reason good enough to get approval so it might not be worth the stress of bothering

[hoping2018]

I would think she'd be rejected - it's super hard to get that funding.

Saying that, I declined referral to our local clinic and investigated ones further afield (still not massively far) and found one that took nhs patients frm anywhere - my CCG approved funding and I had my NHS round there. So maybe she could contact fertility nhs clinics slightly further afield?

[Lauren83]

When you say not automatically approved do you know if there's a contract set up? I work in a private clinic and we have 5 CCGs where a GP can refer you no questions asked, another 8 where the GP can refer you following an IFR and then the CCGs not on either list sometimes patients request to transfer but it's always a no if there's nothing in place already. It's always worth a try as it's a simple process and they can only say no, it's usually fairly quick a decisions made and she can still carry on with the NHS clinic whilst it's happening

[Cariad82]

Thanks both. I have advised her already to try and find out which clinics her CCG has contracts with. I did the same thing when having my first round of IVF. I'm under a different CCG than her though and hers don't seem to be as forthcoming giving her the info. She has already asked to complete an IFR form so I was more wondering if there was any advice as to what she should write. Clinically I think the only real thing she can use is that she suffers from bad anxiety - she has sought medical treatment for this - and she has previously had a very bad experience in that NHS hospital she has been referred to for IVF whilst she was undergoing the fertility tests which now means she is very stressed about the idea of having to go there for the IVF. That coupled with their lower success rates just means she's getting very worked up already, so I was just trying to see if there was something I could do to help.

[hoping2018]

No advice for IFR form I'm afraid.

More that I don't think she needs IFR - my GP said I couldn't be referred elsewhere but I'd already spoken to the clinic who said I could be referred and funded by CCG so I corrected her and she did it.

Had my treatment at nhs clinic which also did private