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Apparently I am cured!!!!

This is like a Fawlty Towers espisode!! Ask the reception what time the practice manager will be around.
I bet because of the merger their computer systems are not talking to each other. And without these the patient system resembles a headless chicken.
 
I think that farcical is the word
 
Well, failing a cure let us know what happens. I'll update you on Monday about whether or not I get my call back and the outcome.
 
With my practice, it always seems to be the practice manager ( non clinical person) who instigates restrictions on strips and the gps who then reverse them when faced with NICE guidance and a clinical reason - implicit threat and medical discussion seem to work well together
 
To be fair to the Surgery, they are about to be swamped with T1's around the world, curing T1 is amazing. Seriously, I would change surgeries as soon as possible if not sooner and put a complaint into the appropriate authority.
 
Chowie said:
To be fair to the Surgery, they are about to be swamped with T1's around the world, curing T1 is amazing. Seriously, I would change surgeries as soon as possible if not sooner and put a complaint into the appropriate authority.
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Sorry but I don't understand what you mean, why are they about to be swamped? Even if they are type 1s need to test, my type 2 parents at same surgery got letters telling them they will get new more expensive meters and strips and need to test more often so clearly not bothered that much about costs for some patients. No options close enough to me to switch surgeries (that are taking new patients) so kind of stuck with them. When I finally find out who the practice manager is I will put in complaint. I am at work Monday, if my surgery haven't sorted it by dinner time I will ring my specialist diabetes team at hospital to ask their help and I am very confident that the nurse there will get it sorted for me as she will not let it go. She sorted it when they wouldn't prescribe more than 50 strips at a time after quite a battle. She told me they were appalling and if I had problems with them again to call her and she would sort it and I think she will be putting a complaint in from their end from what she said.
 
renthompson said:
Sorry but I don't understand what you mean, why are they about to be swamped?
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Well, if they had actually found a cure for T1 then they would definitely be swamped by other T1s wanting a cure....
Chowie said:
To be fair to the Surgery, they are about to be swamped with T1's around the world, curing T1 is amazing.
Click to expand...
Sarcasm....
 
Thanks for posting this. I've saved the link just in case
 
renthompson said:
Unfortunately they do not seem to know the difference between cost cutting and put patients lives at risk
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For many years my GP was a partner at the practice. It was almost impossible to get him to agree to a referral or tests. We have now been switched to a junior GP and wow what a difference. I guess he gets a salary, so it doesn't cost him when he spends the practice money, whereas the partners get a share of the profits.
 
Don't you think that's a little cynical? Or maybe entirely accurate.
Unfortunately budgets have become more important than patient care.
 
I'm really uncomfortable with how broadly we're disparaging GPs here. Yes, there are plenty of bad ones and we've all got horror stories, but... golly, my GP has saved my life twice and my son's life at least once and I don't believe any human being could work the hours they do (and yes, they get paid for it, but not as handsomely as you'd think) without prioritising health outcomes and wanting to genuinely do some good.

They are, by definition, General Practitioners, not specialists. Their job is to identify and refer on, and while we're expecting them to know the full ins and outs of T1 and T2 diabetes, we're no different to anyone else with a long term health condition who is expecting lots of specialist knowledge from their GPs: try having a disabled child at a GP appointment - the average GP will train for a total of less than 15 minutes (in the entirety of their medical training) on childhood disability. Diabetes at least gets more coverage (and a higher on-going profile) than that.

Yes, budgets are squeezed and The Evil Practise Manager is constantly trying to cut costs. You know what would happen if they didn't? Virgin Health and other privatised for-profit health companies taking over our GP surgeries. You wanna have a fun time trying to get your annual retinopathy screening or try new meds - try doing it with a private health company steering the ship.

As patients who are trying to actively self-manage our illness, it's on us to form a partnership with our GPs. This is because we're really, really unusual. We might be the only diabetic on our surgery's roster that's trying to take their diabetes in hand and make ourselves personally responsible for it: most people do only what their GP tells them, no more and no less - and so that's what a GP expects from a patient. This proactive, self-management stuff is off-piste for most GPs and those with more years in practise could well find it harder to adapt to and understand than the younger,more recently qualified.

But that doesn't mean we shrug and go "Well, they're more interested in profit than patient outcomes." We're expecting our GPs to understand what we're trying to achieve - it's surely up to us to take the time to explain it to them?

This thread was started by someone who fell foul of 2 surgeries merging. For whatever reason, the practise manager hasn't weighed in yet. On Monday - hopefully - the OP will give an update on their prescription and whether an explanation and apology has been received.

And if they're still unhappy at that point, they can still choose to leave that surgery and register elsewhere.
 
I do appreciate my GP and at the start of this said they have always been great. I have no doubt that my GP doesn't even know. It was the specialist diabetes team of nurses that the other practice have that wrote the letter, none of whom were available at the time I went In to surgery. I am frustrated and upset at the fact that the other practice has a 'specialist diabetes team' that since merging have failed to acknowledge that I am type 1. I can only wait so long for the error to be rectified as I need strips soon. I will have to take it further if it is not sorted on Monday that is all. appreciate the help from people and will keep you updated what happens. No offense was meant
 
Aaaw, @renthompson no offense was taken! It's a common theme, sometimes, though - one person has a genuine problem with something their GP / DN has done and then there's a flurry of "GPs Suck!" posts. And I don't doubt all these people are genuinely frustrated, too, but I just feel there are more proactive ways of dealing with it than being extremely cynical.

You, of course have a genuine and potentially dangerous problem that needs solving, and you (and everyone else) are well within your rights to feel angry and let down. My Sunday Morning Soapbox Moment was just trying to pull things back into perspective a little: like it or not, we all depend upon our GPs and demonising them as profit hogs isn't going to help build trust and good relationships.

I do hope you get an explanation and your situation fixed tomorrow: I'm genuinely curious to see what the explanation is (and hopeful that you'll get one!).

Happy Sunday!

Sock xx
 
Hopefully so x
 
It's not really my GP that I was criticising, but rather the system that leads them to need to put funding first. My GP practice follows a strict 10 minute appointment regime. If you need more than 10 minutes you have to make another appointment and appointments aren't easy to get.
My specialist doctor is more enlightened. He doesn't just tout NHS policy, he advised me that I should research the whole diabetes subject and look in particular at some of the new diets that seem to be effective. Yes, he's a specialist, but my GP just told me I had Type 2, that it was progressive and that the best I could hope was that diet and exercise would delay the time when I would need medication. Fortunately, I know how to research a subject and I have the wit to sort the good from the bad. Consequently, I got my HBa1c down from 53 to 42 in three months. What about the poor soles who haven't got the way with all to do effective research ?
 
Someone off reception at GPs has just called. They said no one knew why it happened but think it is because my insulin had been took off repeat prescription again. They have not got a record of the prescription I put in on Thursday either. She said she would request them again but it would take another 48 hours, I told her that that wasn't good enough because I would have ran out test strips by then. She told me she is going to ask if someone can do it urgently and get it sent out but can't guarantee it as the surgery is closed today for staff training.
 
@renthompson the word you need to quote to them is "Maladministration" It is a big accusation, so don't use it lightly
 
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