Any reviews from Bourn Hall Wickford or Herts and Essex

[gemstone24]

Hi everyone, currently looking to start treatment via the NHS and have been offered a choice of clinics. Bourn Hall Wickford and Herts and Essex are our closest ones and I wondered if anyone could provide any thoughts and experiences on either? It would be very much appreciated. Thank you x

Hi,
I used Bourn Hall in Wickford for two rounds before moving to another clinic. They have pros and cons.

Pros: The staff are really lovely, try and get Dr Paloma Perez as your consultant she is really nice. The embryologist are really nice and approachable and you can ring them and talk to them directly about the embryos so you feel quite involved. You get to know the staff from all the visits and it's nice if you want a handhold type of support as all the nurses are such lovely ladies. The facilities feel very high tech you can tell they've spent a lot on the clinic. I think they have started doing evening appointments one night a week.

Cons: they are not as thorough as some other clinics. I was never given a baseline scan there (I don't think they do baseline scans unless they just didn't on me). My first round was a bit of a disaster as I had a cyst on my ovary that I believe interfered with my treatment and I do think if they had done a baseline scan they would have picked up that i had a cyst that would interfere with my cycle. They never did blood tests on me to check hormones throughout the cycle (I'm with another clinic in London now who do a blood test at every scan). (I don't think it's necessary for clinics to do regular hormone blood tests but I think it does help them build a picture of how you are responding to the stims). They also never scanned me on the day of transfer to check my lining was thick enough even though it had been thin on my previous scan.

I don't regret using them but I think they are best suited to those who respond to IVF in a textbook way and don't have additional issues, in which case I think clinics who are more thorough will give a better chance of success.

Thank you so much for this info super helpful! Can I ask how you found the egg retrieval process with them too? I hope everything is going well for you at your new clinic x

@gemstone24 I had two egg retrieval with them and both times were the same. They gave me a mild sedation in my arm and then I breathed gas and air throughout. You're awake but the sedation numbs the pain (although I did feel a bit of mild pain on the second one).

xx