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Diabetic Clinics/Consultants

  • Thread starter Thread starter 999sugarbabe
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999sugarbabe

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Question.
Do all diabetic patients (normally) get automatically referred to a Diabetic Clinic to see a consultant once diagnosed?
I've only been dealt with by my G.P. and a practice nurse.
I have been referred elsewhere by them, for retinopathy, podiatry, chiropody, and blood tests, but not to anyone specialising in diabetes.
 
I was admitted to hospital because of a bg of 23.1 and so it was the diabetes clinic at the hospital who dealt with me. I only get treated there. My doctor writes my prescriptions only and has nothing else to do with my diabetes care (thank god). I'm not sure, but I think as a diabetic you may have the right to a referal to a diabetes specialist facility. It may just be though that your gp specialises in diabetes. I would ask.

Caitycakes x
 
I've been diagnosed 5 1/2 years and it's never been suggested. In this area, Stable T2s see the GPs and DSNs. T1s and unstable T2s see the Hospital.
My T1 husband sees the hospital and i'm not actually impressed by his care.
 
Many years ago you would automatically be sent to the diabetic clinic at the hospital whether you were T1 or T2, but with the increase of diabetes and little increase in the time/HP to run clinics it was decided that the GP could manage T2's as it involved tablets and diet and refer patients to the consultant when they were having problems that the GP couldn't solve...

But there was still the hospital clinics were being bogged down with patients, so a rethink was made that if T1's were well controlled then they GP surgery could over see the on going monitoring, reffering patients as necessay to consultant where felt necessay...

How well this works for the patient, really depends on the competence of the GP and nurses within any GP surgery, I'm lucky that within my surgery the DSN as direct access to the diabetic team at the hospital, which includes regular training sessions, and question and answer sessions with the consultants etc... Very well set up indeed.. And our doctors listiens to what how DSN says!

Because of my problems I was having I was reffered to the consultant and because of my insulin pump my care is overseen by the hospital, but I still have access and see my DSN at the surgery, but my husband has his whole diabetic care overseen by our surgery as he's has good control and happy to remain within the surgery care..

AS with any system of care, there will be good bits and bad bits, along side good HP proffesionsal and helath proffesionals that you wonder what planet they trained on!!!!!
 
Have to say being diabetic for 8 years its only in the last few months I've been to see the consultant at the hospital, previously all my care was under my GP but I've been informed that for the time being my care is under the hospital.
 
I think it entirely depends on the PCT.

Mostly only Type 1s get to see a specialist and Type 2s are dealt with by GPs but there are many other differences from place to place, here we have a lot of specialist nurses and some prescribing nurses who take a lot of the load off the doctors for well controlled patients with numerous chronic conditions.
 
My GP is the one who does the diabetic clinic at the doctor's, I don't know how 'specialist' he is though. I haven't seen anyone at the hospital apart from for eye tests.
 
I was admitted to hospital at diagnosis so saw their diabetic clinic for a few visits,unfortunately the appointments kept getting put back so i was told i could have my care at my gp practise,i chose to do so as it was a 4 bus trip there and back to hospital :)
 
Hi Sugarbabe,
I think the answer is that a GP can refer a patient to a consultant if the patient is not responsing well to treatment and the GP would like an expert opinion. Also a patient can at any time request to be seen by a consultant. But there is no automatic referral to a consultant if the patient responds to the treatment prescribed by the GP.
 
My experience is that Doctors in the practice do not prescribe anything until a newly diagnosed diabetic is seen by a Consultant. The waiting period for the first consultation is normally no more than 3 weeks and the second is within 9 weeks. Once the Consultant has decided on the treatment/medications, the practice provides the prescriptions; getting strips for self testing is not an issue. Any changes in medications are determined by the Consultant at initially 6 monthly and annual follow-up checks where the usual tests are run (unless something turns up in between times at the 3 monthly checks carried out by the practice nurse -where bloods are taken and sent for the full analysis - followed by a discussion with the GP and the practice make another referral to the consultant).

It seems a pretty robust system and I once asked why the GPs seemed to have a slightly hands-off approach. The answer was that the subject and the broad spectrum of issue involved was best dealt with by a specialist.
 
Jenny,
Shame it doesn't work that way in England!
 
In England GPs/surgerys/trusts (I don't know the exact ins and outs) have to pay for every referral they make out of their own budget. Hence the lack of willingness.
 
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