Ivf waiting times on the nhs??

[G2120]

New to all of this...

When I was younger I had a mis diagnosed appendicitis which was left and caused it to rupture, I think the surgery for this may have caused blocked tubes, as I have been off contraception for 4 years and not got pregnant.

I am just starting the fertility testing process, I have had a phone call consultation with my GP and had my blood tests done which came back as normal, my partner is waiting for an appointment for testing at the moment.

I was just wondering if anyone has any idea on how long it takes for me to have all of my tests done, how long the waiting time for referral to the ivf clinic is (if needed) and how long the current wait for ivf treatment is, with COVID delays I’m assuming it’s longer than normal but can’t get much information from my GP.

Thank you xxx

It massively depends by area.
Our wait to be seen at initial appointment after referral from GP to fertility clinic was around 8 months. At that appointment we were told the waiting list for ivf was approx 3 years.
We took out a bank loan & were successful on our second attempt.
I gave this answer on another post and someone else only had to wait 8 months to start treatment so it really does depend. Wishing you lots of luck on your journey

Thank you for your reply, I’m from Liverpool / north west area. Is there any way of finding out the local waiting times before being referred do you know?

Agree it varies so so much by area. No way to find out other than asking when you get your first appointment or if you manage to find someone on here in your area. We are Kent and first saw GP in January 2020, it took until November to get all our tests done and reviewed etc. That was with a 2 month delay as covid meant all appointments were cancelled then another delay as they stopped doing HSGs due to covid. We got referred for IVF in November and I have just started my tablets for the first round. Some areas have wait times of 12+ months for IVF once you have been referred. If you suspect it's your tubes then push for a HSG sooner rather than later.

Hi. I'm from nearer your area so hope this is helpful:

We found out we had male factor issues in October (by coincidence). Blood tests and semen analysis were easy and quick to arrange via GP. Then we had to wait for about a month for an ultrasound, and about two months for an andrologist. We asked for a fertility clinic referral in December, and were given an appointment end of January (so around 1 month). Had to do more tests to confirm the issue. Were told we had to talk to a gynaecologist, waiting time 6 weeks (only does 1 appointment for 1 afternoon twice a month!). That was actually incorrect in the end. Spoke to andrologist again end of Feb instead, to confirm NHS funding eligibility. Sent off forms this week, were told to wait 4-6 weeks for them to be reviewed. Important: at every stage we have been told there is NO waiting list for the actual IVF, and when the funding is approved we can 'start the treatment' (whatever appointments and waiting that comes with then!).

Our half-year-ish timeline was purely caused by appointments and delays in appointments and cancelled appointments etc. Not any waiting times! If I have learned anything it is call them, call them, call them; follow up, follow up, follow up!

Hey! That’s perfect timing, been looking everywhere for someone local! Oh that’s really good news, good luck with your treatment!! So you would advise ringing loads to try and push the appointments in and then it’s just a case of once it’s all done you can start? If you don’t mind me asking where about are you from?xxx

@g2120 I don't think the Hewitt Centre in Liverpool has anyone 'wait times' for IVF at the moment they told me. It's just that getting funding approved appointment and starting with meds takes around 16 weeks from sending off for funding. It took me about 6 weeks for my initial appointment then around 4 for a follow up call and they were happy to refer me at my follow up call for ivf. But I don't want to go ahead yet going to wait another while.

@anonymousxxix are you Liverpool CCG if so, do you expect to get 2 or 3 IVF rounds? I find the guidance unclear for Liverpool. It says 2 and 3 for exceptional circumstances, or something to that effect. I just wonder what exceptional means!

@Sarahdaydreamer1234 you can find a list here (2017 not 2021 I think but should give an idea) - www.fertilityfairness.co.uk/nhs-fertility-services/ivf-provision-in-england/. It goes by YOUR postcode, not the postcode of the clinic, i.e. if you live outside Liverpool but go to the clinic in Liverpool it is the outside postcode that counts for you.

@anonymousxxix I'm both Liverpool clinic and live here. Liverpool CCG says 3 rounds maximum. 2 rounds with a 3rd with an individual funding request if exceptionalality is evidenced. I just don't know if realistically lost women in Liverpool get the full 3. There's isn't detail about what 'exceptionalality' is.

@Sarahdaydreamer1234 if you don’t mind me asking how long did your initial fertility checks take? And what were the tests like? We have just booked in my partners test at the CARE fertility in Chester and the wait for that is 6 weeks, trying to get a rough time scale of times! Because we have been referred to the Chester clinic by my GP is that where I will have to have ivf or could I still choose the Hewitt in Liverpool? Xxx

@g2120 I think you can still choose the Hewitt if you ask your GP they might know for sure. My GP did initial blood tests for me and sent hubby for SA and it was about a 6 week wait then had the first fertility app next week where I had one more blood test and then they rang for a follow up about a month after. I also got a Hycosy which was put through after my follow up and I think there was a 3 week wait for that and they tell u of your tubes are clear on the day.

Exceptional circumstances might include not getting any embryos to transfer or none surviving the thaw if you had to do a freeze all but again very much depends on individual circumstances as lots of people have cycles and don't make it to transfer especially if they have male factor

I would also look at Create Manchester - private clinics which accept NHS patients have shorter wait lists than fully NHS clinics attached to a hospital

@G2120 I'm now with Care Chester for IVF - NHS referral. We did SA through GP while waiting to be seen by the NHS fertility service at Preston. We paid for private appointments in November with the Consultant from Preston to have my AMH blood test, scan, and to go through the SA results with him.

The Consultant referred us for NHS IVF at Care Chester and the request for NHS funding went in November. We had a phone appointment with a Consultant at Care Chester in early January. I start Norethisterone today and am looking at egg collection in approx 4 weeks.

Care Chester have said that they treat NHS and private patients the same, there is no "fast track". If our 1 NHS round is unsuccessful we would likely go to Manchester Care Fertility that is fully private and seems to have has shorter wait times to start.

Hopefully that's helpful.

Hi

I’m from greater Manchester (Bolton) i have been referred to a fertility clinic approx 2 months ago. I have had all my blood test and scans which is all normal and ovulating. DH has had semen test. Anyone around this area know how long till the initial appt and also waiting list for IvF

For me it was 9 months wait

Hey @G2120 ! To give some background I had a similar start that spiralled out of control.

I am 28 currently. My first laparotomy was for a misdiagnosed ruptured appendix when I was 10 which caused massive bowel and abdominal issues. I then had a laparotomy for a big ovarian cyst when I was 16 that also ruptured and I had my first tube removed. Then in 2016 I had an ectopic and had a laparotomy but by that point the frozen pelvis from the burst appendix was so bad they couldn't visualise anything inside and they had to close and I went on methotrexate for a week. Last year in March I had a laparoscopy for an ovarian cyst and bowel damage, then in August I had a laparoscopy to finally have my 2nd tube removed as yes it was completely blocked from the years of damage. So my advice is to start asap as as you can see from my situation a burst appendix can be causing issues 18 years later.

I was referred to the NHS for IVF in Dec to St Thomas and Guy's. I had my phone consultation in Feb then my treatment appointment early May then got the call 2 weeks ago to finally start on my August cycle. Super excited to finally get there but the wait takes forever.

@ShareLove was this 9 months for the initial appt or from gp to ivf.

Also just to add i’ve had hsg and tubes are all clear and now I’ve been given clomid to try for 6 cycles. Does anyone know after clomid how long the wait for ivf is

@Infertilityishard heyyy !! I went to my gp end of November 2020 and having treatment in august 2021 so about 10 months from seeing gp first time to request to refer me to ivf clinic and to actually injecting and doing the trasfer :) all within 10 months done ! it felt like a never ending wait while I was waiting though !!

@Infertilityishard as soon as I got accepted for nhs ivf , I started treatment straight away no waiting list ! It took like 8 months to sort paper work and testing ect !! Tahts the longest wait and waiting for paper work ect !!

@ShareLove Thankyou so much for the info. Mine feels like such a long wait. I was suppose to be referred in feb 21 but my dr forgot to refer me?? So I rang up in April and they referred me then. I had my initial consultation in June. HSG in September and now they have just put me on clomid. I have an appt in December so not sure what’s going to happen then. I might ask if I could be referred to ivf clinic because that’s what the consultant said in my initial appt so not sure why they put me on clomid

@Infertilityishard they normally put people of chlomid when not ovulating so I’m suprised they put you on it , I’m
Confused , you said you ovulate and all is normal so obviously that wasn’t your problem , hmmm , normally they put people on chlomid when they don’t ovulate on their own . So that’s strange .. could you maybe ring and ask some questions about why they made this choice for you ?

Yeah I hope I’m not being messed around. I’m going to ring tomorrow to ask why. I initially had progesterone test with gp which my results came within normal limits(38). And then had a repeat progesterone test which I think normal reading is 30 and mine was 29 because I think I tested slightly early.

Ive taking clomid for the first time this cycle and my period was only for 4 days which is really less for me as I am normally 6-7 days.

I’m going to ring the clinic tomorrow and ask why?

Hi everyone.

I’m based in Preston area also and have been undergoing various tests for YEARS! A lot of the same tests were repeated and finally a few weeks ago the gynaecology nurse said she was going to refer us to the Hewitt centre for ivf and said we qualify for 1 round on the nhs. Does anyone have any sort of idea of when we may hear anything from them? :)

Hi @Bbbwx
I am from the West Midlands area. We were referred for IVF in July and was also told we would be entitled to one round on the NHS.
We had our funding approved in August and were then sent out consent forms to fill in online. We were told the waiting list was three months, however we've since been told due to covid and them running at lower capacity we won't be getting a phone call until the new year!

If I'm honest I'm not 100% sure on the next steps. As far as I am aware we are waiting on a phone consultation to discuss the precise plan (I have unexplained infertility) ...Then maybe the next appointment is with the nurse teaching us how to administer the drugs/injections?
It's so difficult, I've not had one face to face appointment or been able to ask questions. All my research has been done online.

Hopefully this information helps you 😊

We are in Warwickshire, we are coming up to 2 years now TTC and we were referred last month to the infertility clinic, the earliest appointment I could get is April next year. I’ve got PCOS and I have 3-5 periods a year so there is very obviously an issue, I’ve had a laparoscopy a few years ago to remove a cyst and endo. They did another scan a few months ago, 21 day blood tests (not that they knew when the 21st day was). My partner also had his semen analysis done and that was fine. So I am the issue. April just seems so far away, especially if they decide to repeat all the tests again and it’s a telephone appointment?! I think they’ll prescribe clomid first to help ovulation, it’s all a bit frustrating! Very tempted to try save up a bit and go private to start with to get the medication and help sooner than later. Also I know my weight will be brought up, my bmi is over 30 although I am very active and I run a lot but I struggle to loose weight. Of course between now and April I will try my best with my diet and continue to be active as they won’t even consider IVF on the NHS whilst my BMI is higher, so many goal posts!