General questions about Insulin and Pump - "recently" moved to the UK

[Gio82]

Hi everybody, as the title says, I've "recently" moved from abroad. The truth is that are some years I am living here, but I travel a lot between Italy and the UK because of my job.
To avoid complicating my life, I've always taken my insulin and supplies for the pump in Italy. I have now moved for good, and I need to start receiving my medication and supplies from the NHS; hence I have a few questions about how this works, so my apologies in advance if some of them will sound obvious and because it's kind of a mixed topic.
By the way, I have type 1, and the pump is a Minimed.

Insulin:
As far as I know, the GP prescribes the insulin, but I made the request through patientaccess website, and it has been rejected, I called them and been told the GP was processing it—probably an error in the system.

- Is it normal?
- How long does it take to have it approved?

Pump:
The Diabetes specialist at the hospital (Diabetic clinic in NorthWest London) set up the pump supplies request (minimed mio and resevoir)
I created the account on the Medtronic website, but the hospital name is not appearing on the scroll-down list; I contacted Medtronic twice, my request is still in process, but this doesn't explain why the hospital is missing.

- Again, is it normal?
- How long does it usually take?

To complicate my situation, I am moving from west to east London soon.

- After changing my GP, will the new GP move my records from one diabetes clinic to the closest?
- Do I have to contact my actual diabetes clinic first?
- Will my pump supply request still stand?

Many thanks in advance for all of your help, and sorry again for the mix.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Did you search for the official hospital name on Medtronic? Often there is a local name that the hospital is called and then the name of the trust that appears on all the headers. If you search the hospital is it part of a bigger trust? Our local ones all have different names to differentiate which is which but all come under Oxford University Hospitals.

Your patient access is usually good for ordering repeat prescriptions but it needs to be on your GP’s system first so it may be that you need to just wait and it will appear or it may be that you need to prod them until you get it prescribed. If you’re getting short of insulin then chasing it or asking for an appointment with a GP sooner rather than later is good. Mostly any GP actually setting eyes on your request will get it sorted it’s just getting to the point where a GP sees it.

You don’t need to contact your diabetes clinic ahead of a move but will be moved to a local team eventually. Unless you specifically request to stay with your current team. Most people choose their local option for ease but you can actually request a team anywhere. You will need to move your pump supply details to a new team as the correct team needs to be billed.

 

[Gio82]

Hi @Thebearcametoo, and thanks for all the answers. Yes, I searched for all the possible names; the weird thing is that other hospitals, which are part of the same trust, are on the list. I called Medtronic, and they should solve it in the next few days. The good news is that I received my supplies this morning 🙂

About the insulin request, still rejected on the system, but the pharmacy received the prescription. So everything should be sorted out by Monday. The diabetes specialist also changed it from pens to vials this week, which I didn't know, and I have never used vials in the past, but I am sure it will work out fine.

So, everything seems to be going in the right direction.

Many thanks for all of your help.

 

[helli]

The diabetes specialist also changed it from pens to vials this week, which I didn't know, and I have never used vials in the past, but I am sure it will work out fine.

Did you extract the insulin out of the pen for your pump? That seems unusual from my experience.
Not that it matters much, I am only asking out of curiosity. My main reason for commenting is to ensure you also have pens as a back up in case your pump fails.
I recommend reusable pens and cartridges as they take up much less space and are much better for the environment. And the pens are more robust.

 

[Gio82]

Did you extract the insulin out of the pen for your pump? That seems unusual from my experience.
Not that it matters much, I am only asking out of curiosity. My main reason for commenting is to ensure you also have pens as a back up in case your pump fails.
I recommend reusable pens and cartridges as they take up much less space and are much better for the environment. And the pens are more robust.

Yes, I have always used the Novorapid pen with the reservoir, so I was confused when I saw vials. Apparently, the refill procedure is a little bit different. In any case, I should receive the vials on Monday, and I still have 3 pens as a backup.

To be honest, I prefer the idea of having pens, because they can be useful in case of an emergency (if the pump should stop working etc.).

 

[JohnWhi]

On the Medtronic front, it seems to take some time for the ordering system to be set up. My pump was changed on the 25th February and the hospital registered the details, but the account still shows the old one. I was advised that, in the short term, I might need to telephone Medtronic to order things.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

You should have a refillable pen for back up for your pump anyway so both cartridges and vials should be in your repeat prescription.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes, I have always used the Novorapid pen with the reservoir, so I was confused when I saw vials. Apparently, the refill procedure is a little bit different. In any case, I should receive the vials on Monday, and I still have 3 pens as a backup.

To be honest, I prefer the idea of having pens, because they can be useful in case of an emergency (if the pump should stop working etc.).

Many pump users have both backup pens as well as vials. My alternative has always been to have disposable syringes (smaller to carry than a whole spare pen, and with a longer shelf life). But I was diagnosed a long time ago so I started off using syringes and they are quite familiar.

I think you may well find the vials easier than pens for reservoir filling, once you get used to them. The vials fit snugly in the blue connector thing that you use to fill Medtronic reservoirs.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Yes, I have always used the Novorapid pen with the reservoir, so I was confused when I saw vials. Apparently, the refill procedure is a little bit different. In any case, I should receive the vials on Monday, and I still have 3 pens as a backup.

I suspect it's been changed to vials as a lot less expensive than pens.