Anyone else waiting on Homerton Fertility to open?

[NewnameNelly]

New referral to Homerton Hosp for fertility and the hospital is still not taking new patients, I've been told to call back in September. I am so exasperated, we've been waiting 6 months now. Is anyone in the same boat?

Hello, I am with Homerton too. Our first appointment was delayed due to Covid but hopefully now they are quicker now with everything. They should give you a date in which month they will be able To start your stimulation etc. but sadly their list is long for ivf, I heard something like 6-8 months :( I have Hashimoto thyroid issue and sadly I had only 1 scan on day 8 during stimulation - I think simply they have no capacity for more scan if you are low risk :( Otherwise before we start the treatment I had 2-3 scans with them and they were thorough. They may suggest other options before Ivf and hopefully they can start your treatment quicker. Let me know if you need to know anything else. Good luck!

Thanks so much for getting back to me on this! We’re now basically isolating so as not to catch covid and miss our appointment - is be totally gutted as god knows when we would get offered another appointment. I may DM you after the appointment if I’m not sure of anything etc if that’s okay!

Of course you can message me! Wishing you good luck🤞. Keep safe especially during this crazy times!

Hi everyone, I have been with homerton on and off for the last 7 years!
I am having a frozen transfer this Friday. Anyone else on a similar time frame?

I was scanned 3 times during 11 days of stims.

@Easymeasy Good luck with the transfer🙏 Mine will be sometime in March I hope! Good to know someone was looked at more thoroughly. They are good overall, just the wait times are a bit too long.

Hi everyone. I had my first appointment yesterday and on the waiting list now. They said it should start in Aug 2022 which feels so far away, and covid could push that back even more. Obviously feel so grateful it’s a free option on the NHS but wondering if we can scrap together money for a private cycle. If we did, would this discredit us from being eligible for nhs round in aug? Would we have to tell Homerton? Thank you

Hi there, regarding your question, my friend was in the same situation, she was on the waitlist for NHS however did private which was not successful and when her turn for NHS came, she didn’t tell them and proceeded with it which was successful and she has her boy now. So you can do it without telling NHS but hope it is successful the first time for you so you don’t have to explain anything to anyone 🤞

@Everythingcrossed2021

Hi everyone. I had my first appointment yesterday and on the waiting list now. They said it should start in Aug 2022 which feels so far away, and covid could push that back even more. Obviously feel so grateful it’s a free option on the NHS but wondering if we can scrap together money for a private cycle. If we did, would this discredit us from being eligible for nhs round in aug? Would we have to tell Homerton? Thank you

Hi, I just wanted to know if this was your first appointment to investigate your fertility or if you’ve already done all that and the waiting list is to begin treatment? I’ve just been referred for ivf by another hospital to Homerton but have no idea when I might get an appointment let alone start treatment.

Heya! I had my first appointment in Dec after a 3 month wait since my GP referred. We were put on the waiting list for IVF to start Aug 2022. Initially felt like light years away but easing into it now, as we could still conceive naturally in that time (wishful thinking but gotta hold on to the hope!) and we are able to do a self funded round of IUI at Homerton in the meantime too. So we have options. I have felt very overwhelmed but I have to say that is easing; and I feel more comforted knowing we have some options now. Wishing you all the best with your referral - happy to answer questions along the way xxx

Thanks so much.
I think I’ll feel a lot better once we have our first appointment with them and get a set date.
Hope all goes well for you x

Hi,
Don't want to dishearten anyone on here but this is my experience so far..
Me and my DH are also under Homerton for NHS funded fertility treatment. We had our first appointment in September 2019. We have yet to start our IVF treatment. My DH had an operation
in late 2020 as our fertility issue is male factor. We have been calling monthly with first date of my period every month since September 2021. - no one answers the phones so you have to leave voicemails. however just found out that rather than ringing you can now email the nurses. Every month they say the same thing 'youll be contacted in 10-14 days with further information'. 14 days rolls on and they tell you , you can't start treatment this month. Every month it's the same excuse 'covid delays' 'staff shortages'. I know they are prioritising other patients who may have lower AMH or are older in age therefore the wait would be affect their chances - would I wholeheartedly understand. But then there is so such thing as a proper waiting list. We have been told we definitely won't start in the next 3 months. But it could be another 6 months +.
We are looking into trying to save as much money as we can (despite the current climate with cost of living sky rocketting) to go privately should we be delayed any further.
The emotional and physical turmoil of waiting and constant disappointment and lack of communication and compassion is just taking an affect.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry it’s been such a frustrating wait. This is my concern really, that the recovery of the nhs from covid will mean at least another year before having my first cycle.
We’ll probably wait a couple of months to get our first appointment and see what kind of timeline they give us. Family have offered to help us fund going private which I didn’t want to do but it sounds like it might be the only way to bypass waiting years.

If you are able to transfer to another hospital, I would recommend. The waitlist at Homerton is at least 8 months!

I've not had the opportunity to talk to anyone else who is with Homerton so it's comforting (in a way) to know there are others in a similar position.

I have contacted my local CCG to ask what alternative NHS fertility Clinics accept funding from my borough, however I haven't heard anything.

I also contacted Homerton directly through their PALs because I'm getting tired of all the disappointment and have been advised they MAY be outsourcing to private clinics. - So sit tight if you haven't been waiting too long since your first appointment; during that time try and save as much money if you are able to, in order for you to have additional options should the wait be too much to bare.

I just wish they were more transparent and honest about prospective delays etc and actual reasons for this. This would at least provide you with some reassurance from them and trust in them.

I know from personal experience that other people have only had to wait several months from initial appointment to starting IVF treatment at other NHS Funded clinics. So this just raises questions to me about Homerton..

@K8dferXdder

If you are able to transfer to another hospital, I would recommend. The waitlist at Homerton is at least 8 months!

Is this what you have been advised recently?? Where are you in your fertility journey?

Yes I did a fresh cycle with them which failed. Will do a frozen one in the next couple of months - they advised me there is no waiting list for frozen but if I need another fresh they said it’s currently 8 months. I will be paying anyway so I don’t see any points waiting for them when I can do it in another private clinic with no wait times. I am happy with the investigations and care I received from them but I have a feeling my protocol was not chosen perfectly which resulted in the poor response to medications. I might be wrong, it could be just my body … wishing luck everyone 🤞

Ah okay! How long did you wait from initial appointment to do your first fresh cycle? Sorry to hear it didn't work out. Hope you have more luck with the frozen cycle. 🙌🤞 What private clinic have you chosen to go to now?

My GP referred me in Feb 2020. Initial appointment was planned for April 2020 but they closed for Covid and moved it to September 2020. We started investigations and tests in Sept 2020. Fresh transfer was scheduled to June 2021 but they moved it to July 2021 and after down regulating with pills, they discovered a large follicle so they moved it to August 2021 when I again started with the pills until sometime in September 2021. Stimulation was in October 2021 but my period arrived and so we were waiting 6 weeks for a follow up appointment etc and I have another follow up now end of Feb 2022 when I hope we can start in March 2022 with the frozen cycle.
I am in between Lister and CRGH via the Access Fertility multi package but haven’t decided yet. I hear both clinics are ready to start treatment within a 2-4 weeks, so the wait times at Homerton have been ridiculous as you can see. Other than that I am happy they discovered our issue was the male factor and all tests they did were adequate just they are sooooo slow and they try to delay you with another month, then another month etc. :( It’s a shame. I know people from other boroughs who were referred to UCL at the same time already have 6 months old babies but unfortunately I am not in their catchment area. Our borough covers only 1 fresh cycle and with the wait times at Homerton there is really no point to go with them next if I am paying from my pocket. I am 40 as well so can’t afford the wait time. Hope it was helpful, feel free to ask me any other questions.

@K8dferXdder

My GP referred me in Feb 2020. Initial appointment was planned for April 2020 but they closed for Covid and moved it to September 2020. We started investigations and tests in Sept 2020. Fresh transfer was scheduled to June 2021 but they moved it to July 2021 and after down regulating with pills, they discovered a large follicle so they moved it to August 2021 when I again started with the pills until sometime in September 2021. Stimulation was in October 2021 but my period arrived and so we were waiting 6 weeks for a follow up appointment etc and I have another follow up now end of Feb 2022 when I hope we can start in March 2022 with the frozen cycle. I am in between Lister and CRGH via the Access Fertility multi package but haven’t decided yet. I hear both clinics are ready to start treatment within a 2-4 weeks, so the wait times at Homerton have been ridiculous as you can see. Other than that I am happy they discovered our issue was the male factor and all tests they did were adequate just they are sooooo slow and they try to delay you with another month, then another month etc. :( It’s a shame. I know people from other boroughs who were referred to UCL at the same time already have 6 months old babies but unfortunately I am not in their catchment area. Our borough covers only 1 fresh cycle and with the wait times at Homerton there is really no point to go with them next if I am paying from my pocket. I am 40 as well so can’t afford the wait time. Hope it was helpful, feel free to ask me any other questions.

I feel your pain! The extended wait times and constantly things being delayed really knocks you down doesn't it. My borough also only offers 1 cycle currently but the fertility policy is under review and in the next few months may be updated to offer more than 1 cycle to those eligible! So from one side I'm being pulled to that but then also being pulled to private because of the waiting times. Just curious do you come under north central London CCG? (This is the policy that's under review). It's so heartbreaking to hear that others in similar positions but purely different borough/postcode are at an advantage in terms of fertility treatment. I suppose we can only hold hope and be positive despite this. What made you filter down to Lister and CRGH? Is it because of their success rates for your age range?

Good to know they are changing for your CCG, hope they can give you more cycles (well hope you don’t need more than one anyway 😊🤞).
Haven’t heard of any changes in Redbridge CCG.
I read a lot about the private clinics, the different treatments etc in this forum and HealthUnlocked and I understand ARGC is a good one but extremely expensive, CRGH is next but also a bit expensive and Lister is a balance of good results and reasonable prices. Will see at the end after the frozen cycle which one we will choose but likely to be Lister. There are other clinics but either they have longer wait times, not convenient location wise or results are not good. Some clinics also don’t accept patients over 40 so I had to consider this too. Lots of parameters to look into but will stay positive and hope it will work next time 🤞

Hi
I'm also having same issue due to start calling homerton each month now to see if its a yes or no to starting ivf. My main anxiety now is that they say they will call back up to 14 days later which means that you can't essentially try in the interim on the event that it is a no for that month. Has anyone else Had this same worry? Thank you

Yes I had the same issue. Not only you can’t try but also you can’t plan your life! It is a huge dependency on them. I wrote them a letter recorded delivery by post, addressed it to the nurses and it worked once 😀 they called me! good luck anyway!

Hi thanks for your advice. So were you not able to call up the nurses and chase after leaving the message about day 1 of period. Do they just not respond. May I ask what you wrote in the letter? I'm so stressed as I have low ovarian reserve due to chemo and I'm worried about wasting even more time in the waiting. Thank you

Hi, I can understand your stress. I was also stressed as I was 39 then and I knew already they may delay you with a month or so if they don’t have availability. So I left them a voicemail on day 1 of period but I wanted to make sure they will really call me back (you can see how stressed I was). So in the letter I write the details, that it’s my day 1 etc and I told them I am really concerned about my age and I would like to be sure that we will proceed with the cycle as agreed before. So one of the nurses called me 2 days later and we took it from there. If you want you can try but you can write them also an e-mail that you are very concerned about the low reserve etc and you want to make sure you will proceed with the cycle as planned. E-mail also works ok but I was overstressed which I think is unnecessary. I will have to deal with them soon for my FET, even though they say there is no wait time for this, it still takes 3-4 months 😏 anyway wish you the best outcome of the cycle!

Thank you for the advice I will try and chase them up as much as I can. Do you have an email address to use. I only have the standard homerton fertility reception email which I think just goes to the admin team and they haven't been great. Is there a nurses team email to use? Would you be happy to share? I'm really sorry to hear how stressed you were also and I hope you continue positively on your journey and have the best outcome you can hope for x