hewitt centre / abc experiences

[Whilstwewait]

Hi ,

We are looking into self funding. Currently unexplained following bloods and sperm analysis and concerned about long waits on NHS.

Based on where we live we have narrowed down clinics to the Hewitt centre in liverpool or the ABC clinic.

Does anyone have an experience with either clinic that they are happy to share? Xx

Hi I'm on Nhs with Hewitt centre in Wrightington. Before Covid they were very accommodating with the appointments, a good professional team. I'm speaking to my consultant tomorrow in regards our options as the Letrozole didn't work. The receptionist advised that all services are back but of course will priotise patients with cancelled appointments. If the wait list is long I will go private as well.

@Chicasimona thank you. We have decided to give ourselves 3 months and then review then. Hope it all goes well for you xx

I went the Hewitt centre. Mine didn’t have a happy ending unfortunately. 3 miscarriages in the last year. Although the staff are lovely I regretted choosing that clinic as the communication is shocking and we had to constantly chase information. The process seemed to take longer because of this. The final straw was on my last miscarriage in April, I contacted them to say I wouldn’t be attending the first scan as I had lost the baby for me to then receive a phone call the other week asking me if I cancelled the scan due to the coronavirus situation 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

I don’t mean this in a bad way towards the nhs but I would choose a clinic that is completely private next time (although the money has ran out now!!) I think because the Hewitt is mixed in with nhs you don’t get the same experience. One example, it takes forever getting through to them on the phone and the wait times when you attend appointments are long also.

Sorry if this sounded a bit negative but I’m sure you would rather an honest opinion. Obviously everyone’s experience could be totally different. Good luck with it all x

Hi, I agree with the comments in regards to communication. If you compare Hewitt centre with purely Nhs hospital, they are brilliant, much quicker arranging appointments etc. But when it comes to communication it is poor plus you mostly will liaise with the nurses anyway when you manage to get through. A friend of mine went private in London and she had the personal phone number and email address of the consultant who was happy to answer any questions any time including weekends, giving very personal care.
That being said the clinic in Wrigthington opened in 2015, very new, modern, well-equipped and the staff seems professional.

@Chicasimona I’m with the same clinic in Wrightington we had all initial tests in Feb then all went quiet due to Covid however I had a call with Dr Harris mid-May to tell us our results and to call up to make a pre-treatment assessment appointment but everytime I call the receptionist says they haven’t started them as yet. So frustrating as we just want an idea of timeframes so we know is it within the nxt 3 months so we can prepare / relax for a bit if it’s going to be longer! Have you got any idea of timelines with them? xx

@Chicasimona
P.s this would our first ICSI cycle xx

Hi @Positivity20
We have finished the 6 months Letrozole at the beginning of March just before the clinic was shut and staff redemployed.

I spoke to Dr Harris on 2nd June in regards the next step to do Iui and Ivf. The nurse called me a few days later and confirmed we are on wait list for the 1 hour consultation/ treatment discussion. Erica mentioned the consultation will be via Zoom as they cannot do face to face which is fine. 2 months later they haven't even started yet saying they don't have the technology part set up. Come on even my 5 yr old nephew can set up a Skype call. What are they doing?

Erica also mentioned there are about 50 ladies on the wait list before us. I find this uncertainty really upsetting. I know that others are in worse situation so shouldn't complain but seeing other clinics up and running I don't understand what the issue is?

Hi @Positivity20 and @Chicasimona, I just came across your conversation and agree completely. I have not found Wrightington great at all. We started all the tests in January and even those they were mixing up what we needed. Then the meds/consent appointment was cancelled due to Covid (fair enough) but we find ourselves now still waiting for this to be rearranged. So frustrating when you hear of others starting from scratch post lockdown, and have already had their cycles! 😤

@EllieEskimo @Chicasimona Ahh so we’re all at the same stage then. Same I really don’t understand how they haven’t worked out how to do a Zoom yet to get the list moving, even just bring a laptop in if it’s a tech issue on their computers! I understand there’ll be a lot in front but would be nice to know it’s happening and the ones before us are moving along. Just even a rough idea if it’s going to be before Christmas or are we looking at a longer timeline, zero communication which has been stressing me out much more than the thought of IVF really! It’s a shame as before then it seemed to be a pretty positive experience but being left in such limbo hasn’t been fair xx

@Positivity20 Yes, a time frame just as a rough guide would be better than zero information altogether. According to their Facebook page, they're back "fully open". I'm not so sure about that!

@EllieEskimo I know 😔 Let’s all keep each other posted if we hear anything xx

@Positivity20 Definitely... Nice to know it's not just me, I was starting to take it personally 😊 x

@EllieEskimo Ha ha same! xx

Ladies, can I ask your opinion about Dr Harris?
I had the impression that he is really not bothered, we are just another number in his clinic. We are classed as unexplained and when I asked him what could the reason be based on his experience, he literally laughed at my face, saying unexplained is unexplained. He might be a good dr but I think he's missing basic people skills. I might be too sensitive though.

@Chicasimona No I feel exactly the same, we’ve had no investigations offered at all or support, Mr Harris delivered our results in a very blasé way and no explanation or offer to find out why our results are as they are (male factor, extremely low count). It seems the approach is just have a go at IVF and see what happens and no shot at let’s try and improve things in the meantime to give you the best possible chance, or help you understand why this may be happening. I understand they may be that under resourced there just isn’t the time or maybe they don’t want us to spend any extra money, maybe this is what NHS vs private is like? I’m so grateful for being eligible to NHS rounds but it’s been one tough ride left to our own devices playing Dr Google xx

@Chicasimona I've never actually met him. He rang once though. I came off the phone and said to the other half that he sounded like he'd been smoking weed! 😳

I'm at Wrightington and I've had two failed rounds of IVF. I agree the communication is not great and Dr Harris is very insensitive...he called my latest round a disaster! I found myself suggesting ideas to him rather than him coming up with solutions. He basically shrugged and told me it was one of those things! Trying to get an appointment with him takes about 12 weeks pre covid so don't expect a quick response. However Erica is fantastic and far more relatable.

@Lollypoll Oh gosh, what a choice of words!! I’m sorry to hear about your two rounds, are you going to change clinics?

Have any of you ladies heard anything yet? @EllieEskimo @Chicasimona

Hi @Positivity20
No news from me unfortunately, still waiting. The clinic is open so they must be doing something. The only thing I can think of that they are priotisiing private patients over Nhs funded?
And you ladies any news on you end?

@Chicasimona No news here, yes that’s probably it self-funded and those before us. It will be interesting to see how much price they give or if it’ll be a case of come in on your next CD1 maybe when the call does happen!

*how much notice

Hi ladies... I chased them up last week and got told they are still not working at full capacity and they thought it would be another two weeks before we would receive our appointment date. Unfortunately, they also said this about six weeks ago, so I'm not holding my breath.

They said that we'd have that pre treatment appointment, then go in for further bloods at the start of my next cycle, to then wait yet another cycle before starting treatment on the next one. This would take us to October at the earliest. So frustrating when you read threads on here and other clinics seem to go through the whole process much quicker.

We are wanting to change clinics to be honest, and I've already contacted my gp about doing so (we're nhs too) but need to get the ball rolling. I just feel I have such a negative view of the clinic now, that I'll be going into it all without much confidence in them :-/

So in a nutshell... No actual news this end either! Just me getting increasingly impatient 😁

My husband suggested to wait for another month and request to change the clinic as well. Has your gp advised how does it work and if there is a wait time?

No, I've not had the appointment yet, so I'm not sure about how long it all takes, but you apparently have to go back to your gp and have an individual funding request (I think it was called) completed, which then goes to your local ccg. I have spoken to two other clinics just to get an idea, and they've both said that this is the procedure for transferring. Which also made me feel a bit better as people obviously do do it. I'd been wondering if it was even the done thing!!