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Telephone appointments

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gwennysue

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Just thought I would share this with you. I received a letter saying I would be contacted by phone for my latest check up. No specific date or time was given just 17th - 21st August.2020 Asked me to go to doctors for blood tests beforehand.So phoning the doctor I could not get an appointment for a blood test and had to wait 12 days for one! Regarding the phone call I explained that I work in a town centre which has poor reception at the best of times and I was not going to stand in the street and answer questions. If they call me whilst at work we are all screened off due to Covid restrictions and we cant even send a mobile text message at timeslet alone take a call. With regards to the landline at work I am not prepared to sit there and answer personal health questions whilst working and there is not a private office where I could take the call anyway. I am not being difficult but Covid 19 has changed so many procedures. I am still working on how to get the phone consultation done, Looks like someone is going to have to contact me once I get home from work.
 
Why can't they give you a time slot for the phone appointment my surgery does.
 
Our surgery is open till 6.30 most evenings, so if yours is similar I see no reason why you shouldn't be called after work. Alternatively, in your lunchbreak, is there a Starbucks or Costa within range? Just use their wifi to take the call.
 
Try telling them you want to be down for 1 day. I suspect they are giving themselves plenty of flexibility to fit people in. A bit too wide a range for a lot of people really.
 
Yes both my gp surgery and the hospital team have been asking me when is suitably for me.
I am lucky working from home that I can be flexible however it doesn’t mean I am always free.
Have you explained your situation to them?
 
I got a letter asking me to book a hospital telephone appointment and when I called them I was offered a choice of times.
 
I have just got a telephone appointment letter for my diabetes consultant for October 20th between 8am and 1pm. No mention of blood tests pre appointment so will have to ring and ask.

I got a similar letter a couple of months ago for an appointment in November and the following day I got a cancellation letter so not holding my breath on this appointment happening but hopeful it will enable me to get Libre on prescription if it does go ahead, as it is currently eating up my savings.
I find talking on the phone more difficult but needs must..
 
My terrible surgery (I have complained about them here many times) sent me this text message last week:

"you are due for a Diabetic review this has been one of our top priorities and we are now in a position to be able to invite you in to see one of our HCA."

I have not tried to make an appointment, though, as I have an am seeing the diabetes service in a few weeks and would like to know where I officially stand with type and treatment before doing anything else.
 
Might be worth checking what the appointment with HCA will consist of. My son has had all his hospital clinic appointments by phone/video call - but did have to attend HCA appointment at surgery prior to take bloods and do annual foot check with results sent to his team prior to the appointment.
It might be that this is similar so the diabetes service you are seeing in a few weeks will have a recent HbA1c etc in advance of that appointment.
Could just be worth checking before deciding to book or not?
 
I usally have the HCA take bloods, Blood Pressure, weigh, and check feet, then see the Diabetic nurse at another appt with the results. Last week the Diabetic Nurse did it all, and will have a phone appointment Friday for the results and chat.
 
It is for the annual in-person foot check and answering questions session.

But I had an HbA1c at the start of the month (though bloods are not taken by surgeries here anyway, but through the hospital trust). It is that and my C-peptide results which got me referred to the diabetic service, so the question part would be academic at this stage. And I am monitoring my blood pressure myself.
 
In normal times I get my bloods taken and urine test done at the surgery prior to my hospital appointment. I then have my appointment with consultant and DSN. I wait until the letter comes from my consultant and then arrange a follow up appointment with the Practice nurse with whom I get my feet checked and just update her on my pump management, and check in with her. On occasions when things get on top of me with my D the Practice nurse is there for support.

At the start of Covid Lockdown I had a call from the Practice to check that I had sufficient strips to test for ketones and that I was clear about Sick day rules. Very impressed with the support and care.

During this unusual time I have not had any blood tests although I was offered the opportunity to get them done if I wanted to. As I had them done in Jan I am not worried. I was advised to check my feet carefully and contact the Practice if I was at all worried. I had my 6 monthly review with my consultant via video which was fine.
 
The surgery are so keen to have people come in for a diabetic check they called me to try and set an appointment. I appreciate they do not know when my clinic appointment is, but they should know a G.P. referred me for one. So all I need to do is just email them my blood pressure readings, which in fairness I should have been doing anyway.
 
Becka said:
The surgery are so keen to have people come in for a diabetic check they called me to try and set an appointment. I appreciate they do not know when my clinic appointment is, but they should know a G.P. referred me for one. So all I need to do is just email them my blood pressure readings, which in fairness I should have been doing anyway.
Click to expand...
I suspect the people who are calling you have been given a list of people to ring without on background on them.
When I rang my suregery the receptionist insisted on 2 separate occasions the Diabetic was phone initially, the first thing the nurse said to me it could not be done over the phone, I would need to be seen.
 
Just received a letter from the diabetic center advising that a new appointment policy is to be implemented. My last appointment was October 2019 and I have had 3 cancelled since then. The letter says that from November rather than the clinic defining the date and time of an appointment a new Partial Booking System is to be introduced to allow the patient a choice of days, time, and type of appointment (video, phone, in person). The new process is to be introduced sometime in November...............As a result your appointment (annual review) on 20 October is cancelled. When I checked the calendar i found October is before November therefore not impacted by the change to the new process. Even worse the appointment is not rescheduled I will be "added to a waiting list"??????? Wouldn't have thought a 10 -15 minute call was too much of an imposition or even a request for me to arrange a blood test so that they could at least review my Hba1c.....
 
The phone appointments I’ve had with my hospital clinic have been scheduled for a 1-2 hour period on a specific day.
 
Only had one phone appt and ditto, Mike, rest have been normal in person ones.
 
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