In this section
Getting started
Your current GP/Consultant/Healthcare practitioner will refer you to us for treatment.
Please complete our online Registration Questionnaire
In most instances we will ask you to attend for tests before we see you for a consultation. This is so that you get the most out of the consultation and we can make a treatment plan for you, which we can only do if the tests have been carried out beforehand.
The tests may include a blood test and a pelvic ultrasound scan for the female partner wanting to have treatment and a semen analysis (sperm test) for the male. Occasionally, it may be necessary for the male partner to have blood tests and for the woman to have other investigations or a repeat ultrasound scan.
Once we have received all your results, an appointment will be made for you as a couple to see a doctor or specialist nurse to plan your treatment.
Overseas clients
If you were not born in the United Kingdom, we may have to refer you to the overseas department in Saint Mary’s Hospital so that they may check if you are eligible for NHS funded treatment/assisted conception treatment.
Your appointments
An appointment will be made for you to see one of the clinicians or a specialist nurse, who will take your history (it is very important that both partners attend all clinic appointments). This is likely to be a video or telephone appointment.
If IVF treatment is advised, you and your partner will be asked to watch our patient information video, where we will go through the steps in the treatment process, explain the risks and problems that may occur and explain the next steps you need to take to start treatment. It is important that you watch this video and understand the information contained in it. This is true even if you have had IVF elsewhere, because it allows us to convey essential information about the treatment as it is carried out in our clinic, which may be different from what you have experienced before.
The patient/couple need to sign consents electronically which will be sent to them individually via an electronic link from Fertility Consents
You will be provided ‘Welfare of the Child’ forms for each of you to complete and return to us. It is important that you do so, as we will not be able to progress the treatment until we receive the completed forms.
If a concern is identified from your Welfare of the Child forms, we will write to you and set out the next steps, which may include an appointment with our specialist counsellors.
If no concerns are identified, we will send you an appointment for an IVF consultation. At present, these appointments are being conducted face-to-face but it is likely they will change to video appointments in the future.
At this appointment, based on the blood, scan and semen results, your treatment will be planned and explained to you. Both partners need to attend this appointment and sign consent forms prescribed by the HFEA.
You will also be seen by a nurse to complete the checks needed and teach you how to do the hormone injections. You will be asked to request treatment on the first day of your next period after receiving a copy of the clinic letter. You are advised to book in for treatment within 3 months of your clinic appointment
Additional investigations may be required before your treatment can begin, in which case there will be a delay before you can start.
If you have been advised treatment other than IVF, we will arrange further appointments depending on the treatment advised.
Your teach appointment
The teach appointment is aimed to give patients an overview of their treatment. It will inform the process of how an IVF cycle works. The patient is expected to view the teach appointment online after they have completed the pre-op appointment with the nurse. The nurse will inform the patient which presentation is required and will provide a booklet supporting this information. The booklet will contain information about the medication, how the medication works, any potential side effects, how to administer and how to store. Each patient will click on the appropriate cycle and drug appropriate for them, which is based on the hormone profile and scan results. Once comfortable with this information, the patient can request treatment.
You can view each of the individual teach presentations under the heading your teach appointment on this page.
Welfare of the child
It is a requirement of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990 (as amended) and a HFEA licence condition that “a woman shall not be provided with treatment services unless account has been taken of the welfare of any child who may be born as a result of the treatment (including the need of that child for supportive parenting), and of any other child who may be affected by the birth.” Section 13 (5).
As a licensed clinic, we are required by law to ensure that we know of no medical or social reason why our patients might not be suitable to receive treatment, including anything that may adversely affect the welfare of any resulting child.
All our patients are routinely asked to complete a ‘Welfare of the Child Form’. If there are any child protection/safeguarding issues or evidence of a previous relevant conviction, it may be necessary for us to make further enquiries through the GP, Social Services, the Probation Service and the Police Department. In order to do this, we would require your written consent. Refusal to give consent may be taken into account when considering whether or not to offer treatment.
Treatment may be refused on clinical grounds if the clinic staff believe that it would not be in the best interests of any existing or resulting child to provide you with such treatment.
You would be given the opportunity to meet with senior members of the Clinical Team and state your views before any decision is made not to offer treatment. In certain circumstances, a case may be referred to the IVF Ethics Committee. This is an independent body of professional and lay people who meet to advise the clinic. They have a responsibility to ensure that any treatment provided is ethically acceptable.
You may already have had some of these tests performed, but these can change over time and therefore need to be repeated.
We also need up to date (within the last 2 years) viral screening results.
When do I come for these tests?
Completion and return of the eligibility form – We ask that you wait 10 working days to allow us to process the form. This is to ensure we have all the details we need for both partners to book your diagnostic tests. Returning the questionnaire as soon as possible will ensure these tests can be arranged promptly. Completing the questionnaire can now be done electronically. Click here to download our form.
Where do I go for the tests?
The Department of Reproductive Medicine is based in the old Saint Mary’s Hospital building. Our entrance is on Oxford Road opposite Whitworth Park. Disabled access is available via Hathersage Road. Please note that you cannot access the Department through the new hospital building.
Please report to the reception desk when you arrive. You can then go to the blood room which is on the ground floor and down the corridor on the left as you enter the building. Initial scans are carried out in New Saint Mary’s Hospital and you will be directed there after you have attended for your investigations. The Andrology Department is also on the first floor; turn right at the top of the stairs.
How is the scan done?
The ultrasound scan is done vaginally and carried out by a sonographer.
You may still be menstruating when you attend for the scan. You must remove any tampons prior to having your scan, and you will also need to have an empty bladder.
The scan should not take any longer than 10 minutes and is not painful. Your partner can accompany you if you wish.
What is AMH?
AMH stands for Anti-Mullerian Hormone and is produced by the ovarian follicles.
It is measured by taking a blood sample, and all women referred to The Department of Reproductive Medicine will have their AMH level checked. AMH, along with performing an ultrasound scan in which the number of antral follicles are counted, is used to help predict a woman’s response to an IVF cycle as it gives an indication of ovarian reserve. AMH can range between 0 to more than 100. A woman who has a lower AMH and has lower numbers of antral follicles will be advised that she may not respond as well and could produce fewer or no eggs. These issues will be discussed with you at your clinic appointment.
It is worth noting that different clinics use different scales to measure AMH levels and so some patients may have had a previous result taken elsewhere that does not match the result given at Saint Mary’s Hospital.
If your treatment hasn’t started within 6 months of being seen in clinic, we may suggest repeating this test so the doctors can more accurately set the dose of stimulation drugs for your treatment.
You’ve had your baseline investigations – What happens next?
Once all the necessary baseline investigations are complete, your results will be reviewed by a clinician, and both partners will be asked to attend a clinic appointment together, these are normally carried out virtually. You will be given the earliest available appointment.