100 signatures reached
To: Scottish Government
Stop fertility patients being penalised due to Covid
Looking for the government to put in place exceptions for those fertility patients effected by Covid, why should we be penalised.
Why is this important?
So here is our story and why i feel strongly enough about this to start a petition. Myself and my husband have been trying for a child now for close to two and a half years, after a year and a half we were referred to a fertility specialist in Glasgow and we got our first appointment in Oct 2019, we saw Dr Sastry who was wonderful and extremely helpful, we were advised however that we could not go on the list for IVF until we had been trying for at least 2 years which we expected so this was fine. We had some scans done to check that everything was ok and it was found that i have what looks like a cyst on one ovary and also on the other side what could be a cyst or a possible blockage of a tube they couldn't tell so at this point we were advised the best thing to happen would be surgery to check, we were fine with this and were placed on a waiting list. There were some other conditions for the IVF too i had to lose weight and get my BMI under 30, this was also expected so i got to work on losing the weight. At this point we were so relieved that things were moving forward and we had a plan, for anyone going through struggles with fertility its easy to feel lost and like your getting no where. All was going well we received a date for surgery the 31st March and we received a letter for our next appointment with the fertility specialist for April this would be to get weighed and be put on the IVF waiting list.
Then Covid struck and everything fell apart, not just for us but for every other couple waiting for fertility treatment. A week before my surgery i got the call that it was cancelled, it was expected but still a shock and upsetting and then in came the letter that the appointment at the fertility clinic was postponed then shortly after cancelled. I was devastated, id lost the 22lbs to get my weight where it needed to be and id been mentally preparing myself for the next stage of our journey. Luckily we contacted our specialists secretary who advised our specialist that i'd lost the weight and she agreed to add us to the waiting list. Now to why do a petition? In Scotland if your under 40 you get 3 rounds of IVF on the NHS if your 40 as long as they think your chances are good, and you have a good egg reserve etc you will get 1 round, so, what about those people including ourselves that would of had time for 2 or 3 rounds but due to Covid will only get 1, what about those of us waiting on surgery whose surgeons aren't doing gynecological surgery at the moment but when you ask about being referred to a surgeon who is they suggest they send you materials on having it done private? Why should couples be penalised for delays outwith their control? This petition is for allowances to be made for those couples effected by the delays, if someone turns 40 before treatment can be given however they are in good health and have a healthy egg reserve why shouldn't they receive the 2 or 3 rounds they would of had if Covid hadn't hit. My specialist advised that the best way to get the government to look at this was to shout about it, so here i am, shouting, please shout with me.
Then Covid struck and everything fell apart, not just for us but for every other couple waiting for fertility treatment. A week before my surgery i got the call that it was cancelled, it was expected but still a shock and upsetting and then in came the letter that the appointment at the fertility clinic was postponed then shortly after cancelled. I was devastated, id lost the 22lbs to get my weight where it needed to be and id been mentally preparing myself for the next stage of our journey. Luckily we contacted our specialists secretary who advised our specialist that i'd lost the weight and she agreed to add us to the waiting list. Now to why do a petition? In Scotland if your under 40 you get 3 rounds of IVF on the NHS if your 40 as long as they think your chances are good, and you have a good egg reserve etc you will get 1 round, so, what about those people including ourselves that would of had time for 2 or 3 rounds but due to Covid will only get 1, what about those of us waiting on surgery whose surgeons aren't doing gynecological surgery at the moment but when you ask about being referred to a surgeon who is they suggest they send you materials on having it done private? Why should couples be penalised for delays outwith their control? This petition is for allowances to be made for those couples effected by the delays, if someone turns 40 before treatment can be given however they are in good health and have a healthy egg reserve why shouldn't they receive the 2 or 3 rounds they would of had if Covid hadn't hit. My specialist advised that the best way to get the government to look at this was to shout about it, so here i am, shouting, please shout with me.
