SIVF Canberra

Hi everyone

Can you believe that my specialist has left Canberra and I wasn't told!

Anyway, for those using SIVF can I get any feedback on who you are using and how much you like them?

TIA

Taff

hi taffy

yeah things have gone a bit haywire the last few months at SIVF canberra, hence one of the reasons why DH and i are now in melbourne giving a cycle a go here (heaps cheaper too).

i was a patient at SIVF Canberra until Nicole Sides 'left' the clinic suddenly in December last year, luckily for us we had just finished a cycle. We got a letter in the mail from SIVF-C informing us of her departure in early December. The changes were really disrupting but I do believe Nicole is now setting up a locum type service with Next Generation IVF in Liverpool NSW, where Nicole is the FS but you need to travel up to Sydney for EPU and ETs with their doctors and labs. This is what she told me in December and I got a letter from her this month saying she was continuing with her fertility practice. With Janelle McDonald also leaving Canberra this month to move to Sydney for personal reasons there is a new FS who has just moved down from Darwin in January, Simone Campbell. I have heard the waiting list to get in to see her is pretty long.

Added to that the clinic moved premises around the same time late last year into a then construction site at Deakin and things were pretty hectic while they tried to sort things out. Payment invoices took 2 weeks to come after ET, and there there was no assistance sorting out private health insurance for EPU and ET (ET was previously part of the cycle fee but is now an additional theatre cost which we didn't know until ET happened) and we had to pay the full amounts up front not just the gap payment that previously we made with going through CAPs clinic. We were lucky we could get the credit card to stretch that far at short notice!

That all said the clinic staff, nurses and lab technicians are all wonderful supportive people IMO and I couldn't have done my cycles without them. The situation with the Doctors, the move and the corporatisation/price increase of Sydney IVF has been really badly handled IMO. We pay TOP dollar for this service but the level of service and information provided was pretty bad. I felt so sorry for the staff who had to deal with the move, changes and didn't seem to have any additional support when they probably needed it the most.

My DH and I didn't know what to do so we ended up leaving and heading to Melbourne this month, where we have family support, to try a cycle down here as I couldn't deal with all the changes and unknowns with SIVF Canberra/FS and am being treated by a FS and clinic with a good track record. The treatment is also almost half the price of what we were paying and it was beginning to be a real cash flow problem with the fees now being so high.

Taffy I hope this isn't too disrupting for you and your partner as you embark on your cycle this year. If you want to PM me or chat on the phone I am happy to.

xx

Taffy sorry to hear about your FS moving to Sydney.

I'm with Canberra FC and haven't done an IVF cycle. Our FS is Dr Robson and he is quite good. But he only goes through CFC.

Hi Taffy, I am with Dr Robson too and I really like him. When he is unavailable, Dr Armellin steps in and he seems quite nice too - he makes jokes and makes you feel comfortable. The CFC is really good, very efficient and convenient for blood tests and u/s. It is shame about Canberra losing Nicole Sides - we started with her 3 years ago and I really liked her.

Hi Taffy

I understand what you are going through... my FS is Nic Sides, and as dusty pointed out, she recently left SIVF. I didn't get a letter though and only found out when about to start my 3rd cycle a couple of weeks ago.

I have subsequently had a follow up appointment with Nic and she was happy to refer me to another FS in Canberra if we wanted. She didn't speak highly of CFC's results - said the staff we very good but their results were only average to good, especially compared with Next Gen Fert in Sydney. Nic is going through the process of getting registration in NSW so that she can do the EPUs and transfers at NGF but until then (about one month from now) Dr David Knight will be doing them. NGF apparently have a very good reputation and most of the staff are ex-SIVF who all left because of disagreeements with management. If you google David's name there are some press clippings about his leaving SIVF a few years ago. At this time, we don't want to go through changing FS again and are okay with driving up to Sydney for EPU and transfer for now.

The new FS from Darwin at SIVF only works part-time and there is apparently a 2 month waiting list to see her. Her hubby is in the Army and both DF and I were concerned she wouldn't be around after 12-24 months - as we are both ex-military (Also p-t drs never seem to be at work when I need them - my old GP was p-t that certainly was the case!) And we have a good relationship with Nic - she is very direct (which we like) and is not full of false/over confidence. I guess this approach won't suit everybody. Nic is expecting to have her own clinic ready to go in Deakin by July.

Oh and Nic also mentioned, Monash IVF just sold for more than $250 million. IVF is big corporate business now apparently - which is one of the main reasons she left SIVF and since she and Janelle invited them to come and set up practice in Canberra, she is a little peeved about how she has been treated by them!

Good luck with whatever you decide Taffy. It's not easy dealing with this extra stress at this time!
Chezxx

Wow, it sounds like SIVFC has seen many changes since our cycles in 2004 & 2005!! We had previously been through the Canberra Fertility Clinic and another well-known clinic in London and found SIVF a breath of fresh air. The staff were great, interested and that is what I needed to make those endless blood tests and phone calls bearable.

We did a bit of research and went for a leader in the field with a good reputation - Dr Mark Bowman, SIVF. He is based in Kent Street, Sydney and we did have to travel up for retrievals and transfers. The bloods and ultra sounds were done in Canberra and our liaison nurse was based in Sydney also. Sound complicated? Well we found it remarkably consistent. Mark performed all the procedures (probably a bit lucky there) and I spoke to the same nurse regarding my results every time.

Things may have changed as certainly the cost has. We return to SIVF this month after 3 years to try and make a sibling for our little girl.

So good luck and shop around!
Fishy

I agree Fishy, the staff at SIVF canberra are pretty special :) Good luck with #2!

Does anyone have an update on how things are progressing, sorting out with FSs and SIVF Canberra ATM? DH and I are wondering whether to stay on using Monash or head back to SIVF or take up the Next Generation/Nicole Sides option.
TIA!
xx

*bump* it would still be great to hear anyones recent experiences with SIVF Canberra :)

i rang SIVF in Sydney this week as i have had such difficulties with my private health fund getting reimbursed for my EPU and ET last November just when the Canberra clinic had moved into their new facilities and hence now do their own EPU and ET.

i have top hospital cover and have only ever had to pay my excess once per year while having IVF. back in Nov 07 when we rocked up to have EPU and then ET we were required to pay for the procedure in full up front ($950 and $550). according my my PHI SIVF Canberra don't have any contracted agreements with any of the PHI funds then or still now. so everyone has to pay upfront and hope to get some of it back from their PHI. i was really annoyed as we were never told this beforehand by SIVF and hence are now hundreds of $ out of pocket. this additional cost really starts to add up if you have several treatments a year.

Dusty - ouch! does this depend on what item number they code the procedures under?
CFC was saying that they have become extremely busy after the SIVF thing (guessing it is the organisational change that has been mentioned before).

hi tarkine
yeah i can imagine CFC got busier! the additional costs are not to do with the IVF cycle, just in hospital day treatment, hence medicare don't get a look in. purely depends on whether you have PHI or not. hence one of the reasons why we took out PHI in the first place.

hey i hope you are going well. i am quite hesitant ATM about returning to work. i hope it is going well for you. big :hug:
xx

Hi Dusty

I have a new appointment on 17 April with Simone Campbell so I will be able to fill you in after that :)

thanks taffy :) best of luck with it all. you have been so very patient.
xx

Oh I know! LOL