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God Dam Gp`s!!!!!!!

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becky_boo

becky_boo

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
OH MY GOD!!!!!

So I came out of hospital on the 4th after just being diagnosed with type one they gave me some stuff but said I needed to make an appointment with my GP asap to get more things. I have had endless trouble with my GP with regards to getting my needles and so on, but thats a different story.

I have only JUST TODAY got to see my doctor! I tired to make one but the diabetic nurse there said I didnt need one and she would call me in two weeks to make an appointment, Didnt hear from her. Gone in today and he said that he cant give me my strips for testing my blood sugar that I had to take everything i had and see the diabetic nurse next week.

I didnt realize how few strips I had till I got home, so rung them back up. They told me they wouldnt give me a prescription un-till monday, I told them I didnt have enough to last me to till then. Their reply? "Just got buy some" ohh im sorry does it look like I just have ?18 that I can spend on something that I am MEANT to get for free!!! I mean really?

AHHHH cant wait till everything gets settled in!
 
Bekki, they should have prescribed you the strips - it's essential that you have the means to test, and as you say, not everyone has a spare ?18 floating around. In my view, this is negligent, refusing to prescribe urgently needed medical supplies, and I would call them back and insist. I know you are on fixed doses but it is still important that you know what your blood sugar is before you inject, in case you are low, and also to be able to test if you feel hypo.
 
Bekki

If you get no joy from your doctors this afternoon..

Here's a couple more options you can use..

If you've got a Small Injuries or A&E pay a visit, explain what's happened, they if your meter is the same as theirs, will either give you some test strips to tie you over, or get one of the doctors to do a prescription for you...

Another option, is give the out of hours doctor a phone, they can write out a prescription, either leave it for you to collect from base, but if you'll lucky they will fax it through to the chemist for you...

You also need to contact your hospital team either your consultant or diabetic clinic, and explain the difficulties you are having getting your supplies, as there is no reason why your GP couldn't issue with a prescription after all, yes your DNS has the power to print out a prescription, but it still has to be signed by one of the doctors!
 
Do you drive Bekki?

The new *requirement* (no longer advice) to test before driving and every 2 hours during long/broken journeys is another stick you can beat your GP with 🙂
 
becky_boo said:
OH MY GOD!!!!!

So I came out of hospital on the 4th after just being diagnosed with type one they gave me some stuff but said I needed to make an appointment with my GP asap to get more things. I have had endless trouble with my GP with regards to getting my needles and so on, but thats a different story.

I have only JUST TODAY got to see my doctor! I tired to make one but the diabetic nurse there said I didnt need one and she would call me in two weeks to make an appointment, Didnt hear from her. Gone in today and he said that he cant give me my strips for testing my blood sugar that I had to take everything i had and see the diabetic nurse next week.

I didnt realize how few strips I had till I got home, so rung them back up. They told me they wouldnt give me a prescription un-till monday, I told them I didnt have enough to last me to till then. Their reply? "Just got buy some" ohh im sorry does it look like I just have ?18 that I can spend on something that I am MEANT to get for free!!! I mean really?

AHHHH cant wait till everything gets settled in!
Click to expand...

Your surgery sounds as bad as mine, it is VERY difficult to get an appointment. My friend had problems getting a prescription from one GP for the medication her 3 year old needs, when I was off with Bells Palsy the nasty person told me I was fit for work. Luckily I got to see the nice doctor, but it is not always easy to get what we need. We don't even have a DSN at our surgery.
 
That's totally unacceptable!!😡

I don't understand WHY they can't prescribe you the strips!
Carol went to hospital on a Monday, came out on Thursday. On Wednesday there was a message on our answermachine from the GP, telling us that the prescription was ready to be picked up. So we got it, before we even got home from hospital
 
On diagnosis my GP had had a letter from the hospital telling him exactly what was what.

Later when I had to suddenly change insulin just when I was recovering from my hysterectomy in hospital (as I'd built up antibodies to porcine insulin), the day I came out and unbeknown to me, my DSN came from the hospital to my GP, told him what my consultant said I needed, got the scrip, went to the chemists opposite and got it filled and then arrived at my front door bearing packages.

When I changed to a pump it took me about 4 visits to get the new scrip sorted ..... would only give me 50 strips at a time .....

If you DO land up paying for them a) they should be VAT free (and you sign a declaration saying you are a diabetic and are exempt) and b) you must get a receipt, then the NHS will reimburse you.

Have you asked the surgery for a Medical Exemption form? - stand there at Reception until they get you one because they have them - you fill it in and they send it off. The NHS then send you a plastic card to say you are henceforth exempt from prescription charges.
 
That's terrible Bekki! Hopefully you can get your strips and get your money back too. The exemption card is really handy, Boots took down the number which is now on my record so I don't have to keep showing them!
 
sorry to hear you having such alot of problems! when i was first diagnosed (last may) i ran out of test strips and needles and gp told me i had to wait the normal 48 hours! i rang my the DNS at the hospital and they had to give me more. sounds like this is a norm problem they have with gp's as they're used to treating type 2 not type 1's. i just tend to know which doctors to go see at my gp's now and always request to see them.
 
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