@Elephant369 I started with the NHS and I also had Create on my shortlist. I too chose CRGH for their stats. What I can say I have learnt over the year I have been with them is you have to be in charge of your own treatment, I don't mean that they aren't very good I just mean that I decided that I am in charge, I'm paying a lot of money and have high expectations. I don't have expectations that at the end I will have a baby but I do have expectations that they will provide me with appropriate advice and options and allow me to ask all the questions when I want, how I want because I am paying for this service.
As an exmaple in our last cycle we had been doing mild stim, we decided to try a different protocol at many stages they said we may need to cancel the cycle due to slow response, we chose to carry on, we called up to book in an extra scan and bloods to what they had planned and we managed to catch a premature ovulation risk and triggered because of it. We got 2 blasts from that cycle previously we only got 1 per cycle. Could be a coincidence BUT what was most important was i felt in control so I was less stressed, less damsel in need and more this is my decision and I take the consequences and outcomes. Hope that makes sense.
They really do have great success rates, I have found recently last 2 months they have been exceptionally busy and hard to contact via phone, I have fed this back to them and asked why the quality of service has dropped and they have had illness and less nurses available and I think they prioritised them all into the theatre procedures in that tight time. I had my polypectomy scheduled for 11am and I didn't get in until 3pm...ouchy with a full bladder in the end I emptied it and said that if I had been told it would be 3pm I'd have been able to use the toilet earlier so that's just tough lol.
All in all they have been good overall, I have learnt the quickest responses come through the portal messages...and you can arrange a call back if you want to talk it through.
I'm giving a lot of info here so I hope it's helpful. When we first started with them I did consider leaving as I was frustrated as I thought going private would make it all magical and like a personalised 1 on 1 service so when it didn't happen I was very frustrated. I considered ARGC too as they are fully private with no NHS Patients. But by the 2nd cycle I had got used to how CRGH operate and how to make it work for me.
I mean last cycle one fo the nurses "told me off" for calling the out of hours number with a non emergency and I simply said I pay alot for this treatment and if I have a question and there is an out if hours number available I expect to be able to use it. By the time I'd asked my question and they had answered they agreed it was the right thing to call and apologised.
I think I try ro remember they are just people doing a job BUT I am paying most of my life savings for you to do your job well for me.
What stage are you at with your treatment at the min?
The one thing I absolutely would say if you are not happy now then change. I had 3 cycles available to me on the NHS for free I got half way through my first and it was so unbelievably and I said to myself I can't leave something this kmportant in someone else's hands and we went private. So if you are not sure they are for you, visit a few other too.
Someone ok the forums told me about Care doing something called duostim, it's for our age group as it does 2 egg collections in 1 cycle. The 2nd 5 days after the first to give the tiny folicles time to catch up. If I was still stimming I would absolutely investigate this further with Care. I will cut and paste her results if you are interested but if you give duostim a Google like I did it's really interesting. X