Moving to the U.K. From South Africa

Megz1991

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi all.... my husband and I could potentially be moving over to the U.K. Later this year or early next year..... I am currently on the metronic Minmed 640G insulin pump with continuous glucose monitoring..... I wanted to know what the chances of the NHS allowing me to stay on the treatment regimen I am on..... if it is particularly or fully funded? I have been on an insulin pump for 10 years. As well as if anyone knows what to expect when going over, how many months of medication should I bring over with me..... any information will be very helpful....
 

bobcurly

Well-Known Member
Messages
108
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I dont think anyone can answer this fully for you. The first thing is to check out if/when you are entitled to nhs care - thats all on the nhs england website. Nhs care funds the insulin and testing strips. However pumps are funded by the local clinical commissioning group which is decided by which gp you are registered with. Having registered with a gp (and so belonging to a ccg) then you would need to see which pump(s) that ccg funds as not all ccgs fund all pumps. This is why you see people posting that they have s choice of 3 pumps etc. The gp would have to refer you to a hospital and they would apply to the ccg. If they dont fund your pump the hospital can do an individual fund request but theres no guarantee thatthe ifr would go through. In that case they should offer you the pump they do fund instead. As to cgm its only funded in very very rare cases - most of us buy libres instead. As you can imagine different ccgs take different times to agree pumps - my daughters took a week, other people wait months as you will see on this site. So i.m afraid there is no direct answer. How much should you bring? Well if we were moving to sa then the gp would give 3 months supply and after that you are not entitled to any more on the nhs
 

tigger

Well-Known Member
Messages
558
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
registrars asking silly questions
Just to add although your gp will be in one ccg you can choose to go to a hospital in another ccg. Have a look at the input website and see how many pump friendly hospitals are close to where you're planning to live. Contact input and see if they have any advice.

The difficulty is the ccg needs to make a funding case for each user. This is usually based on a case for improving hba1c or avoiding bad hypos or some other compelling factor. It also depends on how much money that trust has devoted to this purpose.

Good luck in getting this resolved.
 
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tigger

Well-Known Member
Messages
558
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
registrars asking silly questions
Oh yes and the threshold for cgm is so high that you have to be in dreadful straits before qualifying.
 

Megz1991

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Great thanks for all the info, I do half fund my cgms here and the medical scheme I'm on pays the other half..... does anyone know if I would need to bring like a medical history over with me from my doctor, or they just go from the start...... out here some doctors like a handover but others hate receiving them....
 

Sid Bonkers

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,976
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
As far as I am aware you will be responsible for all your medical treatment charges if you are not either a UK citizen or member of the EU.

If you will be covered by your or your husbands employers group medical insurance then you will be treated privately but whether that would cover you for a pump or not would be entirely down to the insurance offered by your or your husbands employer so perhaps you should check with them.
 

CJOtter

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Bring a handover. It's so much easier and safer if a doctor knows what has gone before. Where in the UK would you be moving to? I have a 640g and my clinic has a fair amount of experience with it.
 

Megz1991

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Most probably London to start, I will be locuming as an Occupational therapist then once we got the feel for things will look for work in other areas or stay, I am applying to go over on an Ancestral visa..... from online it appears I would have access to NHS.....
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
When my daughter came back to the UK with her husband, an American citizen, they went to a local doctor's surgery with proof of their address and were able to register as patients.
He needed to get a national insurance number and various permissions and documents which required filling on of forms and visits to offices, but it was all achieved with a minimum of fuss.
 

CJOtter

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Most probably London to start, I will be locuming as an Occupational therapist then once we got the feel for things will look for work in other areas or stay, I am applying to go over on an Ancestral visa..... from online it appears I would have access to NHS.....
I can recommend Guy's then. They will support you with applying for CGM funding.