# Nhs 18 week from referral to treatment?



## L_ouise (Sep 23, 2010)

Hello, i couldn't find where to ask this so i thought i'd put it here hoping that some of you have recently started Nhs treatment 

My husband's second semen analysis showed he had 4mil/ml and only 1% was normal and 91% were immotile - so really very bad as far as i can tell.

We are trying to figure out whether or not to go private and there is so much conflicting information about timescale and quality of treatment, but my husband isn't getting younger and we want a large family so timescale is important to us.

When i asked the GP about going private, she basically said that private was the exact same in terms of quality as it used the same premises and labs and also now the Nhs has a new "18 week from referral to treatment" guideline, implying that i'd only be waiting 4 month to start treatment on the Nhs.

I'd always been lead to believe that IVF on the Nhs could have a wait of over a year at best.

If you recently started Nhs treatment and was made aware of the 18 week guideline, how did it work out in reality?

Thanks


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## lynsnjon (Mar 20, 2010)

Hi Louise,

I'm private but know from ladies that i've spoken to on ff that are nhs that it doesn't matter either way if you're funding or not. In fact one lady at the same hospital as me was nhs and she got in before me!! Try not to worry and wait for the appt to come through, it really is a long road whether you're paying or not.

Good Luck
xxx


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## hoping :) (Feb 3, 2010)

Hey hun, i am nhs and went for gyne appts march 09 tests etc, finially db got refered to male factor specialist dec 09 and we stil havent had tx yet! waiting times 4 appts repeating tests so the clinic has results cock up with admin (twice) but on the + side we couldnt have afforded to go private so better late than never!x x


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## L_ouise (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks for the replies 

I have also seen instances where women have gone private while waiting for Nhs treatment... so they have a round of private and if it fails, they are at the top of the Nhs list anyway so start right away on their free cycle - anyone know about that?


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## hoping :) (Feb 3, 2010)

If u do that, dont tell nhs or go to the clinic that nhs would fund u for. if u go priviate u loose ur 'free' go, thats why most wait 4 nhs then self fund afterwards, plus any notes/problems things they would do different if ur 1st private tx didnt work would obviously then not b any use as u couldnt tell them ud had self funded tx. its silly, but the nhs try their hardest not to fund, my local pct have stopped funding, fortunatly4me, we had already been granted 1 go.x


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## chadwick13 (Jun 30, 2010)

Hoping, I'm not sure that's always the case. 

I think it depends entirely on where you are based and the policy of your particular PCT. For example, in my PCT, you are (currently) allowed 3 private IVF rounds before you remove your entitlement to claim an NHS round (although that may well change after April). Also, consultants often use the knowledge they aqcuire from your first round to help inform decisions regarding which drugs (and their dosage) to prescribe on your second round, so it is valuable information they would be missing. They keep 'adding pieces to the jigsaw' is that my consultant told me. My advice would be that if you're at all concerned, speak to your local clinic where you were hoping to have the NHS funded IVF and ask them what their policy is if you were to self fund for one cycle. I am also not convinced that not telling the NHS clinic would mean that they wouldn't still find out somehow.  

Once you know which clinic you're being referred to, call them, tell them you were considering the possibility of a private funded round but want to know if this would invalidate your entitlement to an NHS round. You can also ask them what their current waiting list is like. It took me almost 18 months between being initially referred to see a specialist and starting IVF, but this varies SO much. It is often further complicated by test results going missing, etc.


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## hoping :) (Feb 3, 2010)

Really? wow. on my eligibility form it asked bout private and the nurse crossed it and said we wouldnt be allowed! what a great injustice in the variations frm where you live! u must live in a fab place, every1 i have spoken to has the same similar situation to us. but it makes complete sense to allow self funding, and nhs to run side by side, as it would give nhs a bigger better picture of whats going on and what the way forward is! but at this current time i dont think any1s pcts funding is safe, since july 4 pcts have suspended ivf tx  its just too sad!x x


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## chadwick13 (Jun 30, 2010)

I know, it varies hugely. It's all academic anyway, because ours has just suspended all funding until at least April 2011!


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## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

I guess if you are going privately then you have the choice of whichever clinic you wish to attend and some only accept private pts and don't do NHS work


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## coweyes (Sep 4, 2008)

I think a lot of it depends on your local pct and how busy the fertility clinic is.  I can only tell you that it did not take long for us to be refereed about 4 months.  I am pretty sure that you can not go privately and then use the nhs after.  Even though our clinic did not have a waiting list it still took time for them to receive all the paper work, check through it etc etc. xx


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## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

There is an 18 week target in the NHS for in patient treatment.
I am sure there are breaches to this or special rules that can be applied.
There are ways around targets too - when we were referred to a specialist we were seen within the 13 week outpatient target initially - but there is no target for follow up appointments and we waited 6 months for the 2nd appointment for DH blood test results..........

Then a further 5 months to see a male factor specialist and then a further 7 months for a biopsy and a further 4 months for the results. Then we had to have a second biopsy privately, because we found out that even if they had found sperm in the first they would not have the facilities for freezing. Saw GP in June 2005 and got the final biopsy result in Feb 2008.

At the end of this the PCT turned around and said that because my DH had a son in his teens from a previous relationship we were excluded from treatment!

So, because we needed sperm donation and had to go privately, I researched private clinics. Went to the London Womens Clinic where I got an initial consultation within a week and was told that as soon as I had all my day 3 blood tests done and they were OK, I could ring on my next period and start immediately - no waiting at all. 

I feel like years of my life have been wasted. If money is not too much of an issue then I would not wait for the NHS - every year you wait, your fertility reduces.


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## Arya (Aug 27, 2010)

Hello everyone... 

In my experience it unfortunately depends on your PCT. I live in Berks, my GP referred me on 23rd Aug and I received a letter in about 25 days from OFU inviting me for their patient information evening. This is my first ICSI cycle and luckily funded by NHS

I started tests etc in May and going thru d/r now.. so overall 7months to get here... However, once referred it didn't take too long.. 

I am glad I waited, this would have costs us approx £6k .. I asked my specialist the same thing.. should I go private than wait as he couldn't tell me the wait time.. And advised me to be patient and wait for approx few months and spend that money on a holiday once I get my BFP ..
I have everything crossed.. pls     it works..

Lotsa of luck for everything!!!


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## joeyrella (May 13, 2009)

i waited six months from referral to have an initial appointment with my fertility clinic where i was put on the nhs ivf waiting list.  i'd already had all the usual tests done under a gynae at another hospital so i skipped that part of the process out.
i was put on the ivf waiting list in march 2009 and i'm still on the waiting list (i've just written to ask to be taken off the list as i've had a baby via IUI in the meantime).  i've heard the waiting time is over two years now at our clinic.
my personal opinion, but if i was starting over again i would have gone private straight away and worried about how i was going to pay for it afterwards.


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