Diabetic Retinal Screening Suspension?!!

[chocoholic]

Hello All. Happy New Year to you all.
May I just ask, has anyone else received a letter about the suspension of retinal screening for diabetics? I have just received a letter from my regular optician informing me:

' As the Diabetic Retinal Screening Service is suspended, we are no longer funded for your retinal screening.

We are able to off retinal photography as an extension to your basic NHS sight test, at a fee of £15 and we will report our findings direct to your G.P. or diabetic nurse.'

Does this mean ALL diabetic retinal screening is not to be done for free now? I am amazed if this is the case.Amazed and saddened.The independent opticians I go to do a brilliant job and only had the latest equipment installed last year. Please let me know if you have had similar letters arriving through your door. Thank you.

Chocoholic.

 

[iHs]

Blimey I'm shocked.

Is **** still doing the tests? I always went to see him. I would imagine the hospital will now have to organise the screening??

Anyways, Happy New Year to you (hope you are all ok)

 

[chocoholic]

It's **** who sent me the letter, which is why I'm shocked too, iHs. I just Googled to try and find out more and it appears this is local to my area.(Colchester and Tendring). No reason for suspension but I've found a phone number that I shall use in a mo'. I need to find out what is going on.

 

[cugila]

Hello All. Happy New Year to you all.
May I just ask, has anyone else received a letter about the suspension of retinal screening for diabetics? I have just received a letter from my regular optician informing me:

' As the Diabetic Retinal Screening Service is suspended, we are no longer funded for your retinal screening.

We are able to off retinal photography as an extension to your basic NHS sight test, at a fee of £15 and we will report our findings direct to your G.P. or diabetic nurse.'

Does this mean ALL diabetic retinal screening is not to be done for free now? I am amazed if this is the case.Amazed and saddened.The independent opticians I go to do a brilliant job and only had the latest equipment installed last year. Please let me know if you have had similar letters arriving through your door. Thank you.

Chocoholic.

We can find NO record of this at present anywhere ? One can only presume this is a back door way of getting you to pay for something which is your right to have for free.

I would advise anybody who gets such a letter to check with their local Main Retinal Screening Centre for correct and up to date information. My local centre here in the West Midlands knows nothing of this, perhaps it is peculiar to your own area. Check it out !

Can folks please remember that HCP's names/details etc are not allowed to be posted on the Forum.

 

[cugila]

Managed to get some more information here. As you say peculiar to your area Colchester and Tendring.
A local newspaper article about the suspension. 22nd July 2009

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/archive/2009 ... sufferers/

There is a phone number for anyone with concerns.
Call the Diabetic Retinal Screening Service on 01206 286700 or 01206 286701.

 

[chocoholic]

Apologies for mentioning 'names' before. A simple slip up,as iHs and I lived in the same area as one time and we have chatted privately about persons jointly visited before.
I have just phoned the number given for the Retinal Screening Programme and apparently she had received other calls like mine this morning. She was a bit cagey about 'what' exactly the reasons for suspension of the service are, saying' ordinary folk like me don't need to worry' as it was something to do with admin. She assures me that in a couple of weeks all should be back to normal, with free screening done as before. Fair enough.

 

[cugila]

No problems. Glad to hear you got to the bottom of it eventually. Thanks for the feedback....

 

[carolynjw]

I've got my retinopathy screening this month. No mention of paying!

Carolyn

 

[jenrose]

I used to go to a well known chain of opticians for retinal screening and then was told that they were not going to do this test any more and that I should ask my doctor to make me an appointment in a nearby town. The year before he had made it obvious he did keen about doing the screening. When I saw the nurse and doctor at my practise they said to go to an optician in my nearest town.

I made an appointment and found I had to pay 15.00 for a photograph where drops were not used. I paid the 15.00 but was not happy about it so went on the NHS Choice website and put down for screening at my local community hospital. I received a letter saying I had an appointment and it the screening is carried out there annually now by pleasant nurses.

Also I saw a podiarist twice but then was told that she would not be checking the feet of diabetics any longer and the nurse would do it. Last April I told the nurse my feet hadn't been checked for 18 months and she felt the pulse at the bottom of my leg for a minute and that was it. Seems like one step forward and one step back if you see what I mean lol.

 

[badmedisin]

I've always had my screening done at hospital since I was a kid, and since I started having laser i'm being seen at a proper eye hospital with better equipment, which is nice (fluoroscine scan is good for a laugh, it made me yellow). But I've had the photos done recently at the well known chain of opticians that we should have gone to (according to their ads). They do it as part of the free annual eye check, no extra cost but it's not as useful as the hospital scans.

But what's going on with foot checks? A couple of years ago I got told off by the chiropodist for booking a check and was told my practice nurse should do it. But sheonly checks the pulse, which tells her nothing about nerve problems or anything. Not sure how this is useful really!

 

[Anonymous]

I would imagine that you are from the same area as me, my local service was suspended last year, it was only meant to be suspended for 8 weeks, however it is still suspended!

The thing that concerns me the most, is not that i have to pay, but that if i do have signs of retinopathy i can't see how my diabetes nurse can do much about it, as the people i would imagine i would have to see, would be part of the team that has had the service suspended!

he's a link to the article from july when it was first mentioned:
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4505028.Eye_test_suspension_worry_for_diabetes_sufferers/

 

[phoenix]

I hope that this is just an administrative 'blip' and things get back to normal very quickly. The sucesss of the first UK screening program in Newcastle was reported recently.

A recent study led by Professor Roy Taylor at Newcastle University has found that diabetic retinopathy was the second most common cause of blindness in Newcastle District between 2001 and 2005. This differs from national data showing diabetic retinopathy to be the most common cause across the UK as a whole, in the working-age population.

see http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us...nger-leading-cause-of-blindness-in-Newcastle/

 

[cugila]

I would imagine that you are from the same area as me, my local service was suspended last year, it was only meant to be suspended for 8 weeks, however it is still suspended!

The thing that concerns me the most, is not that i have to pay, but that if i do have signs of retinopathy i can't see how my diabetes nurse can do much about it, as the people i would imagine i would have to see, would be part of the team that has had the service suspended!

he's a link to the article from july when it was first mentioned:
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4505 ... sufferers/

This is my post from just a few posts back. The newspaper article AND a Phone Number for anyone with any concerns to contact. Try giving them a call. As far as I am aware it is down to some individuals and the service is still available through the Hospital. That's what we were told.

Diabetic Retinal Screening Suspension?!!
by cugila on January 6th, 2010, 2:00 pm

Managed to get some more information here. As you say peculiar to your area Colchester and Tendring.
A local newspaper article about the suspension. 22nd July 2009
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/archive/2009 ... sufferers/

There is a phone number for anyone with concerns.
Call the Diabetic Retinal Screening Service on 01206 286700 or 01206 286701.

 

[jopar]

A good optitans can do almost the same as the NHS screening to note any changes, until screening was brought in by the NHS this was all that we had, and then before the ability to photo our retina's it was all hand drawn/noted on your file.. And if necessary the optitian would refer you at one stage this was a long winded process, as they had to write to your GP for them to make the referal, but no they can do this direct to clinic..

And us humans being feckle old souls at times, aren't that good at going to optitians to have our eyes checked on a yearly bases, there are quite a high percentage who wouldn't bother or would lose track of time until they felt they needed new glasses or something wasnt right with there eyesight!

So the NHS service decided that as they had the technology and ability, to prevent serious vision impairment from occuring only if they could get hold of the diabetic in the early stages for treatment actually came up with a wise plan to implement, even though we may be feckle when it comes to the optition visit, we tend to acutally turn up to an hospital appointment that has been sent to us a case of 'it works better if you give someone a date, time and a place' better response!

works very well, and I'm surprised that any PCT would concider suspending this much valuable service, as the money it must save in footing the bill of future bills is amasing, one shot of lazer treatment cost around £800 per throw!


Advice is if they have suspended treatment in your area, find a optition that can take retina photo's they may charge you for these, but it's money worth spent

 

[chocoholic]

My husband reckons that it's a case of contracts not being renewed in time. He has vast experience of dealing with contracts and to him, this screams contract renewal forgetfulness!! I'll be chasing things in a few weeks.

 

[Anonymous]

I know the PCT in question, had a review of a number of different areas and they weren't happy with them, therefore suspending them to find out more info, the screening was one of them. I can't remember why they were but i remember reading a publication about it.

 

[steveamos1234]

Very much a post code lottery again :roll:

I'm lucky in that I get a list of the local opticians I can use and there's around 20+ to choose from. I also didn't take up an appoitment and I was chased twice (felt guilty for not getting around to making the appointment)

 

[Anonymous]

New news on this in my local area, it tells why it was suspended!

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4861535.Fears_for_patients____sight_after_blunder/

 

[Administrator]

Hi Everyone,

We've had the following message from NHS North East Essex:

"We are aware that some concerns have been posted in relation to the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service for North East Essex. We would like to advise you that further information and Frequently Asked Questions are available on the website for NHS North East Essex ( http://www.northeastessex.nhs.uk/defaul ... ang-EN.htm ) and forum members are urged to refer to this for clarification."
NHS North East Essex

Regards,

Admin

 

[chocoholic]

It has been on the front page of our evening paper this week that inspectors were not sure if the screeenings results, of over 3,000 patients,had been assessed properly and they are,therefore, concerned that some patients might have been told everything is okay, when in fact, it might not be. These results are to be re-checked and it is apparently THIS that has caused a back-log. :roll:
Ho hum. At least we know.