A Little Bit Of Knowledge Could Have Helped

Nervously, excitedly I waited for our first appointment. I had no idea what would happen at the appointment but it wasn't what did happen.

I had my history checked by the consultant only to be told that the building next door used to be NHS but had been given to a private company, that this was a wasted appointment (he did not say this,as he was fairly pleasant). He offered to transfer us to Bradford Royal Infirmary (not a good reputation and a bit far) or send a letter back to GP to refer us to The Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine (LCRM) in Seacroft. He actually said to us that the latter had a very good reputation. We plumped for this, both from the consultants advice and because it is near to where we live.

Of course I was peeved off. Why had this still been an option in choose and book and why did the 'locum' GP not know that if you live where we do the LCRM is the only choice?!?

Subsequently, I did more internet research and thanks to Google found out that Leeds has no private fertility clinics. If you want to go private, it's Sheffield, Doncater, Manchester or London. I have no idea why a city as large as Leeds only has an NHS facility.

Well, then I had to chase to make sure the letter got back to my GP ahen and again to make sure that a letter was sent to LCRM for an appointment. Of course I had used my choose and book allowance already. When the appointment came through it was for August. Annoyingly if I had chosen it in the first place, I would have been seen in late June/early July.

More waiting and more frustration that I was still not pregnant but for the second time, we were starting on the fertility treatment route!

The moral of this part of the story is....you need to do a bit of research yourself, as GPs (and doctors) don't always have the best answers fo you.