• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Switching GPs AGAIN

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Miss_Melissa

Miss_Melissa

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi folks.

Me & the OH are moving to a more permanent house in 10 days, and it's in a slightly different area. I don't know whether to bother with all the hassle of registering with a new GP surgery: The forms, and learning how that particular surgery works, making a new patient appointment, trying to explain why I need so many items on my prescription...

I just cannot be bothered.
Only been at this one since June.

Also, had a fantastic appointment with an absolutely nuts GP and don't want to leave now.

Any of you in/been in a similar situation?
 
Hi Melissa

You might not have any choice, if you are moving out of your GP's area they might insist that you change to a closer one. Not sure where you stand legally on that though!

Good luck 🙂
 
You'd be surprised at how many people do not tell their GP that they are moving, either by omission or on purpose. For a healthy person who doesn't see their GP often, they usually slip through the net.

By not telling your GP then you run the risk that you may miss appointments if they notify you by post. The discrepancy will also be picked up if you go to hospital when they link your patient admin record to your GP's record (as more hospital trusts are doing now). When it comes to data matching the address given at the hospital is more trusted than the GP record.

As long as your existing GP is within the same clinical commissioning group as the one you should be in AND is not over subscribed then you should be ok.
 
We're quite restricted here because of a dire shortage of GPs, so you have either no choice of surgery or a maximum of two to choose from because it's all done on post code and voting district. So even though there is a GP surgery five minutes from the house I have to go to one three miles away. I'd say stay with the surgery you're with if you're happy with them. I moved to my current surgery in January (had no choice) and they've yet to sort my prescription out so I can collect it from a pharmacy other than their own, keep changing items for cheaper versions and are generally very disorganised. The GPs are fine it's just their systems that are terrible, and it makes things so much more difficult when you're battling with the robotic receptionist every ten minutes just to get a prescription. We should start a register of diabetes friendly GP services across the UK, make it into an app and make a million :D
 
Hi Melissa. If you have a good GP stay with him. We moved out of the area and had to change and I so regret it. The first thing was test strips because he says I should only need to test 4 times a day. He says they are too expensive. He is a one man surgery so no alternative. Only been here 6 months and are reluctant to go to a different one yet in case it's the same. Husband gets on ok with him. He doesn't seem to understand D but thinks he does. Best wishes for the move. We love it here (except for the above).
 
If you're still close to the area and the GP is a good one then stay put unless they say you can't.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top