Information for patients undergoing treatment

Following your review appointment if you are suitable for IVF/ICSI the consultant or nurse consultant will add you to the waiting list. 

Once you are near the top you will be registered on our online Fertility Consent portal and given access to videos relevant to your treatment. 

You must review the information provided on Fertility Consent and sign the allocated consent forms before we can offer you a date to start treatment.

Please read the section below regarding fertility consent very carefully, to avoid errors in your consent forms. Any errors in your consent forms could lead to delays in starting your treatment.

Fertility consent

Fertility Consent is a UK based company that specialises in providing online consents specifically for fertility clinics. Fertility Consent is a secure online platform, which provides patients with consistent and engaging information about their individual treatment, which they can review in the comfort and safety of their own home before electronically completing and signing their clinic consent forms and, where required, regulatory consent forms.

Newcastle Fertility Centre staff register patients on Fertility Consent through our own secure clinic dashboard. Fertility Consent then allocates each patient’s individual educational videos, clinic information, regulatory consent forms, and clinic consent forms based on their specific demographic and treatment details. 

When you are nearing the top of the waiting list, you will receive a text message directing you to the Fertility Consent platform to review information specific to your treatment and complete the relevant consent forms. If you are having treatment with a partner, you will both receive a text message. When you receive the text message, please log in to review the information videos and complete the consent forms as soon as possible. If you have any difficulties accessing the system or completing the forms, please email the nurses at [email protected]

It is best to complete the forms on a laptop, PC or tablet. Please do not use your mobile phone to complete the forms as they do not format correctly on a mobile phone and the forms will be invalid. Please contact us if you do not have access to a laptop, PC or tablet and we will arrange for you to attend the clinic to use our tablets to complete the forms.

Once you have completed all of the consent forms please email [email protected] to alert us that you have completed your consent forms. You should include your full name and date of birth in the email. If you are having treatment with a partner, you should not email us until you have both completed the forms.

Once we receive your email alerting us that you (and your partner if applicable) have completed the consent forms we will allocate a date to review your forms( you are not required to attend this appointment). If your consents are completed correctly when reviewed, the team will contact you to arrange a scheduling appointment. We will not allocate a scheduling appointment until the consents are completed fully and correctly.

If you fail to complete the forms in one month and have not contacted us for support within this time we may remove you from our treatment list. 

Withdrawing or varying your consent

If you would like to amend your consents or withdraw your consent after you have completed your consent forms please discuss this with a member of the team as soon as possible.

Scheduling appointment 

This is a face-to-face appointment with a member of our nursing team. If you are seeking treatment as a couple both partners must attend this appointment. If you are a single woman seeking treatment, you might find it helpful to have a friend or family member attend the appointment with you.

The nursing team will answer any further queries that you have and make sure you are ready to commence your treatment cycle. If you are happy to proceed to treatment, we will then help you to choose your dates for starting treatment. While we will do our best to accommodate your preference for a specific treatment date it is not always possible.

You will be given a treatment plan listing the medication regime, scan and procedure dates for you to refer to throughout your treatment. The fertility nurse will teach you how to do the injections and you will have a go at practicing this yourself.

During this session, we will provide you with an equipment pack. This includes all the needles, syringes and other equipment that you need for the fertility injections and a sharps disposal bin for your used needles. 

Social media 

Social media is a big part of 21st century life and we understand that you might want to share your fertility treatment story on your social media.  We know that some of you feel this gives you a network of support and that it can help lessen the stigma you feel surrounding fertility treatment. We respect your choice to do this, but ask that you respect the privacy of our staff and most importantly the privacy of other patients. This means that we would prefer that you do not photograph or record the staff (either in picture or sound) delivering care or speaking with you on the telephone. If you do decide to record yourself attending the clinic this should only be done when staff are not present and when you are in an enclosed room so there is no risk of accidentally videoing other patients. We appreciate that your fertility journey is personal to you and any recordings must remain the same.

Tests

You will have had several tests done before treatment. More information on tests can be found on our website in the information for new patients section.

Appointments for treatment

Getting time off work for appointments can be difficult. Some people find it helpful to discuss what is happening with their employer, others don’t. We can provide proof of your appointments if requested.

The minimum number of appointments are as follows. If you are having treatment as a couple then attendance of both partners is essential for the appointments in bold, although partners are welcome to attend at any point

• Scheduling appointment
• starting scan
• monitoring scan(s)
• final scan
• egg collection
• embryo transfer

Please remember that the treatment dates are only an estimate of how your body will respond to the drugs. This means that we may have to alter the treatment dates in response to the scan results to ensure that you have the best chance of a successful outcome. This can sometimes be at very short notice.

Counselling

We are aware that undergoing fertility investigations and treatment is stressful and can affect the most personal and private aspects of your life. Counselling can help to lessen potential feelings of isolation and confusion, and encourage you to recognise and understand your emotions and allow you to explore the options that you have available to make the decisions that are right for you.

Research

Our understanding of early human development is constantly evolving and we are actively involved in research to improve current treatments, and to help develop new approaches that may benefit patients in the future.

As part of this work, we may ask you to share your views through surveys about your experiences, your health difficulties, and the treatments you are offered. This helps us continually improve the care we provide.

When you first attend the clinic, we will ask whether you would be willing to donate cells for research purposes. This is entirely your choice.

• If you decide not to take part, your decision will be fully respected
• You will not be asked again
• Your care and treatment will not be affected in any way

If you would like to learn more about our research or what taking part involves, our team will be happy to discuss this with you during your clinic visit.