Today I am very excited. Yesterday I was really pissed off and stressed. Here's why...
Yesterday I phoned the Practice Manager (for what it was worth) to ask what happens next. Not a difficult question but one that she, apparently, has never been asked before. After a lengthy discussion it was left that I would contact the consultant's PA to get the referral letter sent to the clinic of our choice. I wasn't entirely convinced that this was the route to take as, how would the clinic know that my IVF is being funded by the NHS? I did ask her this question but she seemed adamant that the ball was in my court.
Today I emailed (I couldn't face phoning) the woman from the PCT, who had sent the letter, to ask her the following questions:
What happens next?
Do I or my doctors need to do anything?
Has my name been added to a waiting list?
How long is that waiting list?
Amazingly I got a response within a couple of hours that kind of answers all my questions and has made me very excited. My GP needs to refer us to the clinic of our choice, along with the letter of approval from the PCT then, the clinic will contact us as soon as possible to arrange our first appointment.
She advised me to make an appointment with my GP to discuss the above. I've got an appointment tomorrow morning (again this is amazing because you usually have to book about two weeks in advance to see my doctor).
I'm so excited because, to me, it sounds like there is no waiting list and that we will receive treatment pretty much as soon as the clinic can fit us in. I really, really hope that this is the case. I had it in my head that we would be waiting at least a year to receive treatment. Things feel pretty good at the moment. Let's hope that the doctors appointment goes as well tomorrow.
Showing posts with label PCT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PCT. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Monday, 23 November 2009
The letter is in...
It was waiting for me when I got home on Friday.
We have been approved for one cycle of IVF/ICSI on the NHS. I am so excited.
Not sure where we go from here. I think I will now have to phone the doctors to see what happens next. It would have been so much easier if they had included that in the letter. I'm desperate to know what the waiting list is like, are we talking 6 months, a year?! Please don't let it be longer than a year!
D and I opened a bottle of Champagne to celebrate, it felt good to finally be taking a step forward. This whole year has been a waiting game, we have been waiting for a decision on funding since June and I was beginning to go slightly crazy.
Some good news at last.
We have been approved for one cycle of IVF/ICSI on the NHS. I am so excited.
Not sure where we go from here. I think I will now have to phone the doctors to see what happens next. It would have been so much easier if they had included that in the letter. I'm desperate to know what the waiting list is like, are we talking 6 months, a year?! Please don't let it be longer than a year!
D and I opened a bottle of Champagne to celebrate, it felt good to finally be taking a step forward. This whole year has been a waiting game, we have been waiting for a decision on funding since June and I was beginning to go slightly crazy.
Some good news at last.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
A break
I'm back from a two week break abroad.
Although the holiday was needed, appreciated and enjoyed it gave me lots of time to think. In fact, it gave me too much time. I spent a lot of time thinking about not being pregnant, not being able to get pregnant, whether my friend (who was due with her second child whilst we were away) was in labour, my friend's news that she had had a baby boy, how our holiday would be if we had a child with us, not hearing from the PCT, convincing myself that there would be a letter waiting for us from the PCT on our return and how much I just want to get on and start IVF. So, the holiday was a relaxing break from work, life, commitments but it was not a break from infertility.
Owing to the over thinking on the infertility side I have come back to England exhausted by the whole ttc process. To top it off, it is cold, wet and windy in England and, as expected, we didn't have that elusive letter waiting for us.
So we continue to wait and I am being a total chicken about phoning the doctors again. I can't believe how many times I have called to chase this. The last phone call I had with the doctors was just before we went away. I was so distracted by the attitude that was coming through the practice managers tone of voice that I can't remember how we left it. Was I meant to call when I got back off holiday? No, I think she was meant to call if she had any news. No phonecall, no news? I know I should call them but every day I think today is the day that the letter will arrive.
It is driving me insane.
Although the holiday was needed, appreciated and enjoyed it gave me lots of time to think. In fact, it gave me too much time. I spent a lot of time thinking about not being pregnant, not being able to get pregnant, whether my friend (who was due with her second child whilst we were away) was in labour, my friend's news that she had had a baby boy, how our holiday would be if we had a child with us, not hearing from the PCT, convincing myself that there would be a letter waiting for us from the PCT on our return and how much I just want to get on and start IVF. So, the holiday was a relaxing break from work, life, commitments but it was not a break from infertility.
Owing to the over thinking on the infertility side I have come back to England exhausted by the whole ttc process. To top it off, it is cold, wet and windy in England and, as expected, we didn't have that elusive letter waiting for us.
So we continue to wait and I am being a total chicken about phoning the doctors again. I can't believe how many times I have called to chase this. The last phone call I had with the doctors was just before we went away. I was so distracted by the attitude that was coming through the practice managers tone of voice that I can't remember how we left it. Was I meant to call when I got back off holiday? No, I think she was meant to call if she had any news. No phonecall, no news? I know I should call them but every day I think today is the day that the letter will arrive.
It is driving me insane.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Brick wall
photo by Per Foreby shared under the Creative Commons LicensingIt seems that everything that I plan at the moment just hits a brick wall. Yesterday I went back to my doctors for my day 21 blood test. When I walked into the nurse's room I asked her if there was any news. I meant any news on whether the neighbouring PCT would fund us but she thought I meant the result of my day 3 blood test. She informed me that the results were back and that they were absolutely fine. I asked her the FSH level and she told me....8.8.
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
8.8, it can't be 8.8, it needs to be under 8 for me to be considered on the egg sharing programme.
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
8.8, it can't be 8.8, it needs to be under 8 for me to be considered on the egg sharing programme.
This isn't crap, this is really fucking shit. I was relying on this route. I had it all planned in my head. This whole crappy infertility thing would have be so much easier to take if we had only paid a couple of thousand of pounds rather than 5-10 thousand to maybe have a baby.
And then, if that wasn't enough crap news I asked her if they had heard from the PCT about funding. She checked my records and said that they hadn't heard about our outcome yet but that she knows that the practice referred four couples and they have received two rejections. So, things aren't looking too good on that front either.
Really, I have just had enough. How many more brick walls are we going to have to hit? Where do we go from here? Well, I'm really not holding out any hope of getting funding from the PCT. I will continue to have my blood tests done (two more cycles), I will book us in to get our STI tests done and then I suppose I will need to make the phone call to the consultant's secretary to request a referral. Then, I suppose we head into the very expensive world of infertility treatment.
Friday, 10 July 2009
The response...
...from the PCT is in!
The letter was long so here are the highlights:
In 2008/09 there was no routine funding of specialist conception they deferred all treatment bar the couples on the existing waiting list who were approaching the upper age limit within the PCT criteria (39+).
In 2009/10 the PCT agreed a phased reintroduction of funding for specialist assisted conception for couples who meet all of the current PCT criteria (check) AND are known to hospital secondary care services (surely they know us, they have been treating us since September 2008) AND where the female is aged 37, 38 or 39 (bugger!).
The hospital who informed me that there was no funding have been told off and I have received an apology on behalf of the registrar who informed you that there was no funding for treatment in June 2009 as this was clearly incorrect. (Is that meant to make me feel better?!)
Apparently there is a mechanism to consider individual cases where a couple do not meet the criteria for funding in 2009/10 and where the GP or hospital consultant feel that there are exceptional circumstances in their case which over-rides the criteria.
Do I have exceptional circumstances? I don't think so. I'm just one of many IF struggling to conceive, there is nothing exceptional about me so my IF journey with this particular PCT is over.
They can stick their NHS funded conception UP THEIR ARSE!
I'm not that angry, I didn't expect my letter to the PCT to miraculously change their mind and place me on a waiting list. It helps having a back up plan. Hopefully I will know either way (next Thursday) whether the neighbouring county has funding and if they will consider our case. If not, we go it alone, spending the small amount of money we made on our house sale in our quest to have a family. I know that we are lucky to have this money but, all I can say is, thank god we eventually sold the house.
I went back to WW and unbelievably I only put on a pound. I seem to have got my eating back under control (day 2 and counting) so let's hope I can shift the last 10lbs to finally get to goal.
In case you are interested, the title picture is the view over our back hedge. Doesn't look like that now though because the Oil Seed Rape flower has died off.
The letter was long so here are the highlights:
In 2008/09 there was no routine funding of specialist conception they deferred all treatment bar the couples on the existing waiting list who were approaching the upper age limit within the PCT criteria (39+).
In 2009/10 the PCT agreed a phased reintroduction of funding for specialist assisted conception for couples who meet all of the current PCT criteria (check) AND are known to hospital secondary care services (surely they know us, they have been treating us since September 2008) AND where the female is aged 37, 38 or 39 (bugger!).
The hospital who informed me that there was no funding have been told off and I have received an apology on behalf of the registrar who informed you that there was no funding for treatment in June 2009 as this was clearly incorrect. (Is that meant to make me feel better?!)
Apparently there is a mechanism to consider individual cases where a couple do not meet the criteria for funding in 2009/10 and where the GP or hospital consultant feel that there are exceptional circumstances in their case which over-rides the criteria.
Do I have exceptional circumstances? I don't think so. I'm just one of many IF struggling to conceive, there is nothing exceptional about me so my IF journey with this particular PCT is over.
They can stick their NHS funded conception UP THEIR ARSE!
I'm not that angry, I didn't expect my letter to the PCT to miraculously change their mind and place me on a waiting list. It helps having a back up plan. Hopefully I will know either way (next Thursday) whether the neighbouring county has funding and if they will consider our case. If not, we go it alone, spending the small amount of money we made on our house sale in our quest to have a family. I know that we are lucky to have this money but, all I can say is, thank god we eventually sold the house.
I went back to WW and unbelievably I only put on a pound. I seem to have got my eating back under control (day 2 and counting) so let's hope I can shift the last 10lbs to finally get to goal.
In case you are interested, the title picture is the view over our back hedge. Doesn't look like that now though because the Oil Seed Rape flower has died off.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Weighing heavy
My weight is weighing heavy on my mind at the moment. Over the past year I have struggled to gain control over my eating and drinking habit. I have managed to lose over two stone and, as a result I felt fantastic. Note the past tense. I no longer feel fantastic because, over the last few months, my weight has slowly but surely been going up. I’m aware of it. I’m fed up with it. But can I do anything about it? Apparently not.
Tonight it is the moment of truth, after two weeks of non WW attendance (owing to W.imbledon and a date with T.ake That) I am returning to the scales. I’m hoping that the shock of just how much I have put on will knock some sense into me and get me back on track. I know that it is going to be bad because the clothes that I used to feel comfortable in are no longer comfortable. I have no energy, I’m constantly thinking about food and I am fed up that I am letting this control me. I have lost control of the one thing that I can control.
As I hate the NHS and our PCT at the moment I am going to blame this lack of control on them. Talking of my PCT, I finally got round to making that call to them. The call was to set a date by which they have to reply, in writing, to my complaint. I found it a bit bizarre but we agreed a date. So I should have a letter from my PCT by the 14 July telling me what their policy on IVF funding is. How weird is that. I write them a letter and because I don’t give them my phone number they write me a letter asking me to phone them. I phone them and they tell me that they will respond within a certain timeline. Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Tonight it is the moment of truth, after two weeks of non WW attendance (owing to W.imbledon and a date with T.ake That) I am returning to the scales. I’m hoping that the shock of just how much I have put on will knock some sense into me and get me back on track. I know that it is going to be bad because the clothes that I used to feel comfortable in are no longer comfortable. I have no energy, I’m constantly thinking about food and I am fed up that I am letting this control me. I have lost control of the one thing that I can control.
As I hate the NHS and our PCT at the moment I am going to blame this lack of control on them. Talking of my PCT, I finally got round to making that call to them. The call was to set a date by which they have to reply, in writing, to my complaint. I found it a bit bizarre but we agreed a date. So I should have a letter from my PCT by the 14 July telling me what their policy on IVF funding is. How weird is that. I write them a letter and because I don’t give them my phone number they write me a letter asking me to phone them. I phone them and they tell me that they will respond within a certain timeline. Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Dog with a bone
After spending ages writing a post about my experience at the doctors I realised that I had already told you all about it. Seems like I am definitely going crazy. So, I've rehashed the post to just include the bits that are new.
I feel like I am climbing a bit of a mountain at the moment. After my hospital appointment I was mad with the PCT so I emailed and asked, under the F.reedom of Information (FOI) Act, information on funding for IVF for the current financial year and information on the current waiting list. On Monday I received a response. It would seem that my PCT, the PCT that has told me twice that there is no funding for IVF has actually allocated £64,000 this financial year for IVF and that there is currently no waiting list. Now, I'm not naive, I know that just because funding has been allocated does not automatically guarantee that it is available. It may already be allocated but, the fact that they have said that there is no funding, thank you and goodbye has really pissed me off.
What about -
"There's currently no money available but we will put you on a waiting list to be considered at a later date"
OR
"There is funding but it is currently being spent on the existing waiting list"
OR EVEN
"We are not able to add you to the waiting list but if you phone us in 6 months things may have changed"
Nope, none of that. Just a very definite -
"Fuck off - we can't help you"
I'm that pissed off that I have written a letter of complaint to the PCT. In the letter I include the information obtained from the FOI Act as well as other documentation obtained from committee minutes and a recently published survey of IVF provision in England which all state, in writing, that there has been and still is funding (oh, but apparently you have to be 39+ to receive it).
Nothing is ever easy.
I feel like I am climbing a bit of a mountain at the moment. After my hospital appointment I was mad with the PCT so I emailed and asked, under the F.reedom of Information (FOI) Act, information on funding for IVF for the current financial year and information on the current waiting list. On Monday I received a response. It would seem that my PCT, the PCT that has told me twice that there is no funding for IVF has actually allocated £64,000 this financial year for IVF and that there is currently no waiting list. Now, I'm not naive, I know that just because funding has been allocated does not automatically guarantee that it is available. It may already be allocated but, the fact that they have said that there is no funding, thank you and goodbye has really pissed me off.
What about -
"There's currently no money available but we will put you on a waiting list to be considered at a later date"
OR
"There is funding but it is currently being spent on the existing waiting list"
OR EVEN
"We are not able to add you to the waiting list but if you phone us in 6 months things may have changed"
Nope, none of that. Just a very definite -
"Fuck off - we can't help you"
I'm that pissed off that I have written a letter of complaint to the PCT. In the letter I include the information obtained from the FOI Act as well as other documentation obtained from committee minutes and a recently published survey of IVF provision in England which all state, in writing, that there has been and still is funding (oh, but apparently you have to be 39+ to receive it).
Nothing is ever easy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
