"terrible communication and information"

I really would not recommend anybody going to the fertility department of this hospital, after being refereed there by my doctor I have had nothing but misery. The wait for appointments is ridiculous. Months apart each time. I had the same blood result lost 3 times by the hospital which meant I had to go to my doctors 3 times to get them printed out again for them meaning longer waits for myself due to their own mistakes. I was put on clomid fertility drug and today have been advised from nurses at St Mary's hospital that I shouldn't have been as they should of done other tests first. I then had a small operation, was only a day case and that is the only time I can give positive feedback for my time at stepping hill. The nurses on the ward and everybody I saw that day was fantastic right up too me leaving the hospital so on that side I can not fault them. We was then told we needed to go to St Mary's for ivf treatment but that my partner had to quit smoking beforehand, which he did. We was told that we had been referred and that was that. Infertility is a delicate subject which needs to be met with a sensitive approach and I do feel that stepping hill have not done so. Ivf is now a long wait which we knew it would be but now we have just been pushed back further once again due to stepping hill advising us wrongly. They advised us St Mary's would check for nicotine levels in my partner, since being at St Mary's they said that stepping hill should of organised this with our gp beforehand. So now where we should of been starting out ivf journey were now waiting for confirmation that my partner doesn't smoke. In our eyes months wasted waiting for appointments coming through, some appointments we was in and out in five minutes, wasted days off work travel etc, maybe you should think about doing more telephone advisory appointments. Would save a lot of wait times for appointments coming in the post, would save doctors times and patient times, as I said infertility is a very sensitive subject for those going through it. St Mary's hospital are wonderful, so nice and constantly keeping you in the loop with what is happening etc. don't seem to lose paperwork like stepping hill have so many times. From being referred to stepping hill for infertility from doctors to actually being referred for ivf at St Mary's has taken short of 4 years. Years of tests and waits that could all be done in such a shorter space of time