# Which London hospitals do IUI for single women on the NHS??



## Heidi33 (Apr 2, 2013)

Hi ladies, I am due to start ttc with my coparent soon but I need a plan B in case things don't work out.

I live in Scotland and know that IUI isn't offered to single ladies here on the NHS. I have worked in London before and know that some hospitals offer it - Kings College used to and I think Kingston  still do.

I have 2 options of a plan B - either working and receiving IUI in Lindon or Sydney where I've also worked in  the past but I'd really rather not go to OZ again, I'd much prefer to stay in this country and would be willing to move to a London hospitals catchment area to receive treatment.

So my question is ... Which London NHS hospitals offer IUI to single ladies??

Thanks xx


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## suitcase of dreams (Oct 7, 2007)

Heidi, 
Unfortunately I think you may have been misinformed, single women are not entitled to NHS treatment in England/London either - at least not one of single women on FF has ever managed to get IUI on the NHS in London as far as I am aware
You can of course have IUI at a London NHS hospital but it will be as a private/paying patient
If you have a diagnosed fertility problem (ie not just being single) then you may be able to make a case for treatment, but as I said, I'm not aware of a single single woman who has been able to do this successfully in London
Best of luck,
Suitcase
x


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## Heidi33 (Apr 2, 2013)

Oh dear that's depressing 

When I lived in London a year ago Kings College did it on the NHS with no waiting list but don't anymore.

I can't afford private treatment on my British salary (I'm a nurse). I'd have to go back to OZ where I can save £1000s but I was quite miserable when I worked there before...


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## Heidi33 (Apr 2, 2013)

Hi is it the case for all NHS hospitals in the UK?

I don't have any known fertility problems.

Gee - it is soooo expensive to go private


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## notamuggle (Jan 15, 2013)

Apparently 24 out of the 135 PCTs offered fertility treatment to single women in 2011 but I've never heard which ones and I'm pretty sure they were not in London. Now PCTs have gone and CCGs in their place are having to make massive cuts I think it'd be even harder to find a area that funds us 

It's not the hospital that decides who gets funding  its the CCG who commission the services for the area. The only way to find out would be to ring every single CCG and ask!


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## bingbong (Dec 9, 2008)

There are a couple of singlies that have had treatment on the NHS but they all had other factors going on, and all were for IVF that I know of. The NHS will not pay for tx for someone who only needs sperm. The cheapest option is going abroad, have you looked at Denmark or Greece? All much cheaper than the UK even with flights etc.


bingbong x


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## Jacobsmum (Feb 23, 2013)

Hi Heidi
I *did* have NHS treatment, in Scotland, as a singlie. I know others who did, and it worked, but none recently .
Mine didn't work - I think I had to pay a couple of times for sperm, due to shortages, but it was either £50 or £75 a go. I had 8 cycles - donor insemination, not IUI, but pretty similar - referred when i was 35, treatment at 36. When I started they offered 8 cycles, then a break if it hadn't worked, then another 4 if you wanted. During my treatment the rules changed, so it was only 8 cycles total, and then they reduced the number again (I think). Also, they had age criteria (under 40 at time of referral, then reduced to under 3. ERI don't seem to do IUI at all any more - I think quite a few places have stopped offering it, because for couples the most recent evidence is that for unexplained infertility it is no more successful than having regular sex. So, since most referrals are for couples with fertility problems, they no longer do NHS IUI, so centres that used to offer it (to singles, same sex couples etc) stop doing it because they don't have the numbers to justify continuing/ stop having the expertise because they don't have the numbers... Pants, but there you go.
It might be worth your while (a) seeing if you can get referred on the NHS - they might not offer you free treatment, but they might do basic fertility checks (b) go privately to at least get a fertility check - these cost less than treatment, ie £100s, not £1000s (I think mine was about £400, a few years ago). If you get hormone profile, antral follicle check and AMH (your GP can get the FSH done, and a few other ones they might want to check if you do decide to go for treatment) then you can maybe get more of an idea whether this is something you need to pursue sooner rather than later, or if there are potential problems for you. (and if there are problems that mean you need IVF, maybe then you can get onto a waiting list for it on the NHS?)
Something you don't mention in your post is your support network - if you move city (or country) this might not be instantly in place, so I would think carefully about where you want to be having a baby and raising a child, not just getting the treatment. Fine to move to OZ as a great place to bring up kids, or if you have family/support there, but you don't want to move to x borough in London to find the new CCG have changed the criteria and you no longer qualify for nhs treatment. The costs (upheaval, stress, physically moving) could go a long way to funding an IUI cycle.... And then there is the time factor - if it takes you a few months to get established, sort a job, sort accommodation will you be fine to keep trying the known donor route then or will you suddenly feel the months are ticking by? 
If you end up needing IUI, then do check out costs abroad. I loved the clinic I ended up with (GCRM), but with ridiculous costs for donor sperm on top of pretty expensive IUI it would have been cheaper to go abroad for treatment, even if I went to Denmark (where you can get open donor treatment - a factor that was important to me).
One final point - it is never too early to start saving!! You don't know if it will work first time (fingers crossed) or take longer, (and even when places might/definitely do offer NHS treatment, you can run out of cycles...) and I also found putting a chunk of my salary straight into savings (joined work credit union - money accessible with a phone call, in my account in 2-3 days if I needed it, BUT out of my current account straight from my wages, so not 'there' instantly) meant I got used to living on less - 80-85% of my salary. This has really helped now I am working part-time and juggling tax credits, childcare and less salary.
Hope you don't need a plan B.

Good luck with it all
Jacob's mum x


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## Heidi33 (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for your reply Jacobsmum.

I am going ahead with my coparent plan in a few weeks. I would like the option of being able to move in the future but I'd have to move with a partner as all my support network is in Scotland. Considering I haven't had a serious boyfriend for over 10 years I think the chances of that anytime soon are remote! I think maybe I was just panicking...

Saying all that I am not going to keep trying with my coparent forever. I still plan on going down the IUI route after say 6-12 months but I think I'll have to try a local clinic instead of upping and leaving clinic where my support network is. I have no fertility problems that I know off so I don't think NHS treatment is an option right now.


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