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Background Retinopathy Bingo!

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everydayupsanddowns

everydayupsanddowns

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I had a call a couple of days ago from the local eye screening service to say that they had some available slots that they could offer me a little early (my screening would usually be due in December or January). So I’ll be going on Thursday!

In recent years I’ve had a ‘background changes’, then a string of ‘all clear’, then the most recent was a ‘background changes’ again.

I’ll be interested to see what happens this time, having been on the MM780 for 5-6 months, which I *think* has slightly reduced my glucose instability and variability?
 
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Hope you get the letter quickly after! Mine comes forward every year as whenever I get the appt emailed through I log into the portal to change the time (to an afternoon one to reduce time off work) and pick up an earlier cancellation.
 
hope all goes well
 
Good luck hope it all goes well.
Been there with bad eyes, always very stressful.

I have to phone the ey service myself to make appointments as they usually forget or is it because I am a bit difficult so they want to avoid me? Lol
 
What? You get called to ask if you want an early appointment?
I get a letter telling me when my screening is. And it is never early.

As for the background retinopathy bingo, as a fellow participant, it can feel pretty random.
A few years back, I asked he scanner guy what happens to the photos he took. He explained that they are checked by humans which may explain the randomness. Although the are checked by more than one person, it is quite possible for a couple of guys to see a slight "background" anomaly where another couple will see nothing.
 
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I usually receive a letter inviting me to call to make and appointment, which is often then within about 2 weeks, locally.
 
Good luck Mike and hope you get a good result. Nice to get an early appointment for a change.
 
I used to get a letter inviting me to phone and make an appointment, but last year, and now the other day, I got a letter with a pre-made appointment, which this year I couldn’t do, so had to phone and rearrange, and apparently they will now send me another letter with the time and date of the new appointment on it. I wonder if they didn’t get a good enough response from people who didn’t bother/couldn’t ring to make an appointment, and are finding that if they present the patients with a fait accompli, they’re more likely to attend.
I’m playing the Retinopathy Roulette as well, I had 'that' letter last year, hence the annual recall, though checking my online notes, I found they’d written a different report to my GP saying it was only the left eye.
 
Robin said:
wonder if they didn’t get a good enough response from people who didn’t bother/couldn’t ring to make an appointment, and are finding that if they present the patients with a fait accompli, they’re more likely to attend.
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I guess it must vary by area? As far as I remember I've always been sent an invitation with the time and date. The only difference this year was the invite was sent electronically (previously it's been a paper letter).
 
I hope that your change in management has helped @everydayupsanddowns.
Let us know how you get on.
 
helli said:
What? You get called to ask if you want an early appointment?
I get a letter telling me when my screening is. And it is never early.

As for the background retinopathy bingo, as a fellow participant, it can feel pretty random.
A few years back, I asked he scanner guy what happens to the photos he took. He explained that they are checked by humans which may explain the randomness. Although the are checked by more than one person, it is quite possible for a couple of guys to see a slight "background" anomaly where another couple will see nothing.
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Yes the service is now managed in my home town in Oldham, but they don't know what they are doing, they are asking people like me to come for a routine appointment, eye test, when I have complications, then they say they don't a consultant in. However when I was under the neighbouring town of Rochdale, they would do thorough checks and look at all my eye history.

So I rang the Contact Centre and made an appointment at Rochdale for next week.

Did yoi know if you have suffered Iritis you are a medical priority in any hospital in the UK.?
 
This year for the first time ever they gave me a choice of where to go so I rang and said which place has the earliest slot and it was a random surgery somewhere in Coventry so I went there. I wouldn't choose there again though cos there was hardly any parking for patients, the bulk of it was firmly for Staff Only. (Er, hang on ....)
 
Hope you are okay now.

Oh dear, so stressful trying g to find car parking at hospitals and parking tickets galore.

I do try to book first appointment before 9.00am if possible, but in your case that couldn't happen.
 
Did someone say ‘Eye Screening Appointment Day’?

Heavy cloud this morning… and now:

1731583123789.jpeg

The wet roads and pavements are an especially nice touch :rofl: :rofl::rofl:
 
Newbie777 said:
Oh dear, so stressful trying g to find car parking at hospitals and parking tickets galore.
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Ah you can’t drive to eye screening @Newbie777 - they use dilating drops to ensure the pictures are clear before they get sent off for review, so your vision can be impaired for several hours afterwards. Fortunately it’s at a unit in a shopping centre that I can walk to, as I live fairly centrally in my city.

It was a bit of a surprise getting the phone call @helli - usually I have had a letter, but I think they must have had some cancellations and were trying to fill slots. Which I was pleased about.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Ah you can’t drive to eye screening @Newbie777 - they use dilating drops to ensure the pictures are clear before they get sent off for review, so your vision can be impaired for several hours afterwards. Fortunately it’s at a unit in a shopping centre that I can walk to, as I live fairly centrally in my city.

It was a bit of a surprise getting the phone call @helli - usually I have had a letter, but I think they must have had some cancellations and were trying to fill slots. Which I was pleased about.
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My local Screening Service regular post on their Facebook page, how many appoints are missed.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
The wet roads and pavements are an especially nice touch
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I used to nip five minutes down the road on foot to my surgery. Now I have to go to the health centre in the next town, which is a modern purpose built building, the purpose of which seems to be to provide maximum discomfort to eye screening patients. The area where you wait for your eyes to dilate, and then a bit longer while they finish with the previous patient, is a row of chairs along the edge of a corridor at first floor level, all looking out through a wall of glass towards the adjacent building, which is mainly glass and reflects the sun, and down onto the carpark, ditto, all the car roofs and windscreens reflecting the sun back up at you. Can't wait for mine next month!
 
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