IVF during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)

All main CARE clinics are now open. 

Starting fertility treatment with CARE

We can help you to Be Treatment Ready with virtual consultations, nurse treatment planning sessions, at-home AMH and contact-free diagnostic semen testing. You can also sign consents and, if you've had the necessary tests, receive your treatment protocol online in your Patient Portal. You can read below about all the measures we have put in place to make sure we provide you with the best treatment and care in the safest way we can.

Schedule your virtual consultation

IVF treatment with CARE

Providing Treatment Safely 

The health and safety of all our patients and staff is our absolute priority. We are making changes to the clinic environment, the way we provide treatment and also how we interact with you and each other to make sure it's as safe as possible for you having your IVF treatment with CARE.

To reduce face-to-face interactions we will

• continue to offer virtual consultations and appointment with our doctors, nurses and counsellors by video call or telephone.
• encourage you to use our Patient Portal to complete your consent forms, read key information and pay for your treatment
• support you in being confident to administer any medications you need by giving you access to our new injection teach videos
• offer a minimal-contact drop off service for sperm providers to bring their semen samples to the clinic for analysis, at an agreed time.
• offer home kits for some hormone tests. We will post the kits and you take a tiny blood sample by pricking your finger, then post the sample back to the laboratory.
• only ask you to come into the clinic for vital monitoring. We can reassure you that we won’t compromise your treatment by making these changes.

We recognise that remote appointments aren’t for everyone and we will continue to offer in person appointments if we can. 

Clinic layout

We’re adapting our clinics so everyone can follow the principles of social distancing as far as is possible.

Adapting protocols

• We will use a type of protocol called a GnRH-Antagonist protocol wherever it's appropriate to your care. If your consultant thinks it is the best one for you at this time it will be explained in detail at your consult. You can also watch our video 'Explaining adapted protocols during COVID-19'
• We will ask you to postpone treatment if it involves any therapy that might compromise your immune system (eg.intralipid or steroid therapy)  

 

Keeping things safe in the laboratory

We are implementing a new “do not disturb” policy for embryos during the time they are cultured in our incubators. Now, if your embryos are in standard culture, rather than CAREmaps (time lapse), we will minimise the number of times we disturb them to assess them. There is some evidence that it may be better for your embryos if they are not taken out of the controlled incubation environment every day and we will be happy to explain this further to you.

Social Distancing and PPE

We will do our best to maintain social distancing wherever we can.  There will be times during your treatment though when you will have to be in close or direct physical contact with members of our team. To protect you and our staff during these interactions we will be implementing a number of social distancing measures as well as the use of PPE where appropriate.

Screening

Before you come for your appointment at CARE, we will ask you these screening questions:

- Have you or your partner or a person in your household had any of the following symptoms in the last 2 weeks

• fever (feeling hot or a temperature above 37.5°C)?
• persistent cough?
• loss of the sense of smell?
• loss of the sense of taste?
• sore throat?

- Have you been in contact with anyone in the last 2 weeks who has any of these symptoms or has been diagnosed with Covid-19?

If you answer no to these questions then you can be confident to start treatment. If you are uncertain about your answers or are worried about being a healthy carrier of the illness, please contact us for advice.

Choosing to Test

You can choose to have a test to check whether you have an active COVID-19 infection. The test will tell you whether you have an infection at the time of testing and having the test may give you confidence to start treatment and that you won’t be wasting your medications.

If you do have any symptoms of COVID-19 and you decide against having the screening test then we’ll ask you to delay your appointment and until you have completed isolation as advised by the government.

Health screening during your treatment

We will ask you to consider the health screening questions before every clinic visit. If you do develop symptoms during treatment, you must contact us before your appointment. To protect our patients and staff, we won’t be treating anyone with an active COVID-19 infection until they are fully recovered.

Being accompanied on a clinic visit

At this time we have to ask you not to bring anyone with you to your appointment, unless they are also having a consultation, procedure or test. If fewer people are in the clinic, then the environment will be safer for us all. You do still need to arrange to be accompanied home after having a procedure under sedation like egg collection or surgical sperm retrieval. Please arrange to contact the person accompanying you when you’re ready to go home so that they can meet you at the door of the clinic and we’ll deliver you to their safe care.

Hand hygiene

When you come to a CARE clinic we’ll ask you to wash your hands when you arrive using soap and water for at least 20 seconds.  We recommend you also carry disposable paper tissues and that you capture sneezes or coughs in a clean tissue then dispose of the tissue in one of our clinical waste bins and wash your hands again. We will also make sure tissues are available at reception and in the clinic.

The HFEA Code of Conduct

Our regulator, the HFEA, has made it a condition that all patients sign up to a code of conduct before treatment. By signing this, you will be agreeing to avoid behaviours  that might expose you to risks of Covid-19 infection at work and in private, and to restrict your social interactions as the government advises. If you book an appointment at CARE, we’ll send you a form to complete, confirming you will abide by the code of conduct. This is a requirement the HFEA has imposed and is mandatory.

How you can 'Be treatment ready’ 

 

All of our main clinics are now commencing treatments again. If you would like information about treatment with CARE, please call our patient enquiry team on 0800 564 2270 

The following services are immediately available

• Virtual consultations via Skype: Our specialist fertility doctors are available for online appointments to discuss starting or the next stage of your fertility journey. 

Schedule your Skype consultation

• Our new patient enquiry team:  They are available to chat with you informally about your individual needs, give you information on treatments available at CARE and answer any questions you have. Call them on 0800 564 2270
• Semen Analysis: We can now offer diagnostic semen analysis through a minimal contact drop off service at a time agreed with your clinic,  please contact our new patient enquiry team or your clinic to book.
• AMH Testing: we can now send you an AMH test through the post, all you have to do it take pinprick of your blood and send it back for testing.
• Online consent forms: On our secure, online Patient Portal, you can read the information related to your treatment and sign the necessary consent forms, whenever is convenient for you in the comfort of your own home.
• Online protocols: If you have already had all your necessary tests, we will send you your protocol through the Patient Portal, so you can familiarise yourself and have time to think of questions before your treatment begins.
• Online injection teach: Our injection teach videos (on our website, YouTube, and the Patient Portal) can teach you how to administer your medication in advance, and help you feel confident when you start your treatment.
• Treatment – Pre-return checklist: We have designed a checklist which details all the steps you can take to help your treatment resume quickly. This resource helps you check the areas that need to be prepared for your treatment, such as the consultation, your protocol, AMH tests and consent forms. If you see that something on your checklist is missing, then you can contact your clinic to make plans to have this done as soon as you are able. Click here to download your pre-return checklist, or click the image below.

If you have frozen embryos stored with CARE

We know some of you who may be anxious about the time which is passing. One way to use the time productively would, if appropriate in your circumstances, be to opt to have your frozen embryos tested using Pre-implantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A). 

Read our blog about how PGT-A can reduce your time to pregnancy during COVID-19.

The benefits and weakness of this test are documented on our website but in short the test checks that embryos are chromosomally normal. Eliminating embryos that are not chromosomally normal speeds up the time to pregnancy and reduces the chances of miscarriage. 

Our New Patient Enquiry Team

We know that when starting your fertility journey, especially at this time, you’ll have lots of questions.

Our New Patient Team is available to chat with you informally about your individual needs and concerns, and to outline the treatment options available at CARE. If you have any questions about a typical IVF patient journey, costs and how it all works they will be able to answer your questions. They can also book your initial consultation, if you wish.

0800 564 2270 

Our patient portal

If you decide to have fertility treatment with CARE, you’ll have access to our online Patient Portal, which we’ll use to keep in touch with you at every stage of your journey.

Through this secure channel, we will first ask you to complete a detailed medical questionnaire and upload the results of any previous tests you’ve had. Your fertility specialist will then review all your responses before your first consultation to make sure all your appointment time focuses on next steps and how we can best help you move forward.

Throughout treatment, you will be able to use our Patient Portal to access all your documents and information videos, and to sign consent forms. If you’d like to know more about our Patient Portal or what to expect, call our New Patient Enquiry Team on 0800 564 2270, or Book a Consultation.

Your initial consultation will last about an hour, during which your consultant will share what they have learned from your medical history and test results if they are available, and talk you through your individualised treatment options. Your consultant will explain which further tests, if any, need to be done, and will also guide you through the steps of your expected treatment pathway.

There will probably be lots of information to take in during this appointment, but you’ll be given the details of who to contact at your clinic if you have any further questions.

Find out more about IVF

Supporting you during COVID-19

During the bewildering events of COVID-19, we remain absolutely dedicated to making sure all our patients are fully supported, wherever you are in your fertility journey. Our Specialist Fertility Counsellors are offering free telephone and Skype appointments, and we are running online support events.

How can counselling help during COVID-19?

If the uncertainty of COVID-19 is making you anxious about your treatment, talking with a specialist fertility counsellor can help you feel more in control during this confusing time.

Peer-to-peer support

If you’d like to talk to someone who’s also going through fertility treatment, you can join us for a patient support event or get involved with our CARE Buddy scheme.

How can I improve my fertility at home?

There is lots of evidence that taking control of your diet and lifestyle directly impacts your fertility health and your baby’s development – learn more about the steps you can take to improve your fertility.

How to support your immune system

Zita West, leading fertility and pregnancy expert, gives her recommendations for how to support your immune system with small tweaks to your daily routine that can be done at home.

Our CARE family

Worrying about fertility issues can be extremely stressful. All of us at CARE  understand what you’re going through and we are here to help you every step of the way. We care passionately about you and your future, and your need for family is at the heart of everything we do. We are here to support you and help you through this.

With love from CARE x