This may be about to happen to you...

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Northerner

Northerner

Admin (Retired)
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've just had a call regarding my annual review, due to take place at the diabetic clinic a week tomorrow. I've been informed that the appointment has been cancelled, and that there will be no more appointments available at that clinic, I now have to go to my GP and ask them to take responsibility for my diabetes care.

I had half an inkling this might happen, given all the recent talk of cuts and 'efficiencies', looks like they were right. :( The lady was very apologetic - her job is at risk - and the powers-that-be should have issued a letter explaining the situation, but haven't got round to it yet - the clinic closes from the 1st October.

I expressed my concerns that my GP knows less than me about diabetes (which she would freely admit) and she said I could ask to be referred to a consultant-led clinic, so it does look as though I will still have access to a consultant. She also gave me a new number fr the DSN, so I'm still able to contact them.

I suppose in a way nothing much has changed really. I wasn't particularly enamoured of the consultants I've seen before - just a cursory glance at my notes and numbers, then hurrying me out of the door - and I still have DSN access which has always been the most beneficial thing to me. I'll just have to wait and see how things pan out I suppose.
 
I am due in my local hospital located Diabetes Unit next Thursday, so hopefully i wont get a call in the meantime.

I wont ask, but will listen to anything being said by the staff and will report back any goss I pick up.

Hope not as feel they are much more in tune with my T2 (scolding where needed and all) than the GP who can only really be fairly generalistic.

Cheers all
Malc
 
Sorry to hear that Northey .I must agree that seeing a diabetic specialist is always better as a GP does not have the knowledge..Its an annoyance as we should be able to have the person we think is best suited to care for us.
 
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And so it begins. The cuts have yet to hit us here and I've yet to find out if they'll affect oddities like me. I expect I'll lose the test strips again, but I'm normally seen at my surgery anyway. I'll be watching this space though Northe to see how it works out for you.
 
I would be happy for any member of the medical proffession to take an interest in my diabetes lol.
Have just changed GP so hoping for better.
 
So will this apply across the board? We havent been told anything - perhaps paediatric services are different?😱Bev
 
I imagine it depends where you live and the type of clinic you attend.

The hospital I attend is a teaching hospital with its own diabetes centre. This has pros and cons as it means the clinics are likely to continue so that they can train up and coming Drs but you quite often see a junior/senior houseman who then refers you to which ever nurse is supporting the clinic that day. I suspect that with a district hospital that may not be the case.
 
I think Scotland may escape this, as we have a different system - but who knows

That's why this Forum will be of more use to us all.
 
bev said:
So will this apply across the board? We havent been told anything - perhaps paediatric services are different?😱Bev
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I imagine this is just my PCT's reaction to the fact that NHS money is going to go to GPs now, and they are going to have to commission services using that money - but would have thought it is likely to happen to a lot of people. Of course, there's nothing to say that you won't end up seeing the same people at the end of the day!
 
This is a worry, most GPs know very little about everything and something about nothing.
 
Now that I've improved my awareness of my Type 2 condition and can actually question any advice that I'm given, my GP keeps telling me about how little he knows about diabetes - especially about dietary issues. He keeps saying "I'm not a dietitian" whenever I ask him why he'd been advising me to "eat plenty of starchy carbohydrate" for eight years and making my situation worse - even advising me to have porridge for lunch as well as for breakfast.

He's listed in the practice as being one of the two GP's to consult on diabetes!
 
katie said:
Sorry to hear that Northe :( Are there any other clinics in Soton?
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No idea as yet katie. The main gripe is to be given such short notice - I was going to get my blood taken for the tests today and the woman explained that the 'higher-ups' have known about this for some time, jsut haven't got round to sending out a letter yet. She'd actually taken it a]upon herself to phone people to let them know the truth of what was happening, and I feel sorry for her and the other staff as they may lose their jobs. I'm expecting the same to happen now with the retinopathy scans and podiatry service.

What are you doing up at this time of day? 😉
 
Northerner they jumping the gun a bit quick aren't they?

I wonder if your hospital has just taken the choice of care who oversee's your general diabetic care?

I know that when they brought in the GP diabetic clinics, diabetics where given the choice who oversee's there main diabetic care? And now when dignosed you start off under the consultant then transfered to your sugery as soon as possible. At any point you can be referred back to the hospital if you are having control issues..

I'm under the hospital due to my insulin pump, but I've now arranged for my sugery DSN to over see part of my care, I used to have to visit the hospital clinic every 3 month's, but I requested that I see my consultant every 6 months and between I see my sugery DSN, and any problems between visits I can contact my consultant/pump nurse etc to arranged a eariler appointment if required...
 
Hi Ellie, they have closed the clinic and not informed the patients (officially, yet). This can only be in response to the proposed government changes as far as I can see. The nurse at my surgery knows nothing about Type 1s, or rather, she knows about as much as I knew during my first week after diagnosis. I need to see somone who knows a lot more than me and at the moment I don't know who that might be or where, plus this is a week before my supposed annual review - I don't think any of this is 'normal' or expected. :(
 
😡😡 Just about sums up how I feel about this!!!

Thought something cuts-wise was coming our way when the nurse tried to cull my test strips prescription muttering darkly about PCT, budgets & prescription audits! No disrespect to my docs surgery, but they have no idea (going by the surgery "specialist DSN") about T1 and I suspect are not all that clued up about T2.... aaaaaaargh!!! 😡

Not impressed. They better not try to stop me seeing my consultant - he's the lone voice in the wilderness who's actually seemed to talk sense to me in the past 10 years!! 😱
 
I am with ypauly on this one!! Oh, for someone apart from this forum to actually care about.
 
Twitchy said:
Scary!!! 😱
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A great doctor really! It simply serves to demonstrate how much any of them know about the details of specific complaints. I suppose that is why we get referred to "specialists"!
 
This is very concerning news.

I'm hoping that our devolved Scottish government will protect us Scots, to some extent. Come live here!

I think switching to GPs is going to have a serious impact on care, control and ultimately NHS cost. It makes no sense whatsoever.
 
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