Doctors changing peoples meters

[Gaz-M]

So I was at the hospital yesterday giving my bloods and chatting to the nurse, I told her my needles had been changed and she asked if my meter had been.

It has not as of yet, but she said Drs have been told to change meters to a more "cheaper" one to help with the nhs costs

Anyone else had this yet ?

 

[Robbity]

Yes, there's already been a number of discussions about this happening, so have a search for them for more information. (I'm type 2 so this doesn't actually affect me, as I pay for my own meter and strips.)

Robbity

 

[sophiegirl]

So I was at the hospital yesterday giving my bloods and chatting to the nurse, I told her my needles had been changed and she asked if my meter had been.

It has not as of yet, but she said Drs have been told to change meters to a more "cheaper" one to help with the nhs costs

Anyone else had this yet ?

I had my contour meter changed to a Pura meter. It was a piece of rubbish and gave very misleading results... I ended up buying my own contour test strips to get some control of my blood glucose levels.

 

[visayas79]

So I was at the hospital yesterday giving my bloods and chatting to the nurse, I told her my needles had been changed and she asked if my meter had been.

It has not as of yet, but she said Drs have been told to change meters to a more "cheaper" one to help with the nhs costs

Anyone else had this yet ?

The medical practice that i attend changed the meter that I had for 3 years to iCare as the expense was the high cost of the test strips. Happy to say its the same process of test and monitor.

 

[Paul520785]

My Gp has asked me to change to a different meter and given a choice of 2 options. My reply was - let me have one of these to test and check results so I can see which one meets my needs.
First meter - Variation on results from same blood sample of more than 8% and continued "errors" make this one a total NON STARTER.
Second meter - Meter size - Half brick! - First result test over 4 days - about 42 tests suggest reasonable accuracy but on 5th day meter stopped working. checked battery and all the usual things then took back to GP. "we cannot do any thing about that so you should contact the manufacturer"
Threw this one in the bin as soon as I got home.
My opinion is that the suggested meters are not fit for purpose really just CHEAP AND NASTY -

Still using the same meter type after 14 years No plans to change soon because the free upgrade meters currently on offer which I have tested and found no issues are NOT allowed by local NHS for provision of test strips.

Type 1 - Insulin and diet adjusted by testing. for 58+ years

 

[Gaz-M]

this needs bringing up just as the fines did

 

[Amrit1712]

I have the accu chek expert which helps loads with carb counting. Do you think they will change mine? I was upgraded my my diabetic nurse team at the hospital.

 

[Gaz-M]

not sure, I have just e-mailed my local labour MP to see what she has to say on the matter

 

[Amrit1712]

OK, will be good to find out if this is just in certain regions or is effecting people nationally.

 

[jimsboss]

So I was at the hospital yesterday giving my bloods and chatting to the nurse, I told her my needles had been changed and she asked if my meter had been.

It has not as of yet, but she said Drs have been told to change meters to a more "cheaper" one to help with the nhs costs

Anyone else had this yet ?

I notice now that there are at least two adverts (in Diabetics.co.uk) for free meters. Presumably the companies making the readers get their money via the sale of blood sample strips. I should think that indiviual practices and surgery's fund the cost and make the decisions on which readers' they use. My practice nurse gave a 'freebe' given her by a Medical rep.

 

[kmwa]

My surgery asked me to go onto the Wavesense Jazz. Suspect it was for the cost of strips. Been on it for some time now, possibly a couple of years.
When do I not become a "new" member, been a member since 2008

 

[Heathenlass]

There has been a number of threads on the changing of meters, I I'll just give a quick synopsis:

The meter and strip issue is nationwide, with different areas choosing different and very much cheaper ones to cost save.

Meters and strips for Type 2 are usually not prescribed anymore , some GPS are more enlightened than others, but they seem to be increasingly rare.

If you are a Type 1 and your original meter was given you or prescribed by your hospital diabetes team, you have a far better chance of retaining the strips prescription if you contact your team, and ask them to write to your GP to ask that your current prescription remains the same. They may even do this if you are demonstrating good control, even if the meter you are using was not given by them.

There isn't a blanket ban on all non NHSmeters and strips, there are still some ( that vary according to your area) where prescribing is discretionary. It is worth researching what there are in your area. But, unless you can demonstrate that you have a real need for a certain meter and strips on the discretionary list, that differs from your current one that is NOT on it, then you may have a struggle on your hands without back up from a hospital team.


@Amrit1712 , you should still be able to get your strips prescribed because it was given you by your DSN for a specific purpose, but be proactive and contact your team with your concerns and get a letter in the process.

Signy

 

[June_C]

My surgery asked me to go onto the Wavesense Jazz. Suspect it was for the cost of strips. Been on it for some time now, possibly a couple of years.
When do I not become a "new" member, been a member since 2008

I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with how many "messages" you have. I only joined in February 2015, but am no longer classified as a new member.

 

[spaceman]

There has been a number of threads on the changing of meters, I I'll just give a quick synopsis:

The meter and strip issue is nationwide, with different areas choosing different and very much cheaper ones to cost save.

Meters and strips for Type 2 are usually not prescribed anymore , some GPS are more enlightened than others, but they seem to be increasingly rare.

If you are a Type 1 and your original meter was given you or prescribed by your hospital diabetes team, you have a far better chance of retaining the strips prescription if you contact your team, and ask them to write to your GP to ask that your current prescription remains the same. They may even do this if you are demonstrating good control, even if the meter you are using was not given by them.

There isn't a blanket ban on all non NHSmeters and strips, there are still some ( that vary according to your area) where prescribing is discretionary. It is worth researching what there are in your area. But, unless you can demonstrate that you have a real need for a certain meter and strips on the discretionary list, that differs from your current one that is NOT on it, then you may have a struggle on your hands without back up from a hospital team.


@Amrit1712 , you should still be able to get your strips prescribed because it was given you by your DSN for a specific purpose, but be proactive and contact your team with your concerns and get a letter in the process.

Signy

my doctors also sending letters out to diabetic patiences, there giving out new meters there said the nhs were issueing only one meter to all diabetics the meters are called ELEMENT meters and test strips and GREENIAN lancets

 

[Heathenlass]

my doctors also sending letters out to diabetic patiences, there giving out new meters there said the nhs were issueing only one meter to all diabetics the meters are called ELEMENT meters and test strips and GREENIAN lancets

It depends on your area , where you are in the country. Different health authorities have chosen different meters, here in Northumberland you have a choice between the Element and Glucolab , but I believe it is a different choice in Tyneside and elsewhere across the country. The meters on the discretionary list for Northumberland are Bayer, Abbott Freestyle others used together with a pump and another I can't remember the name of for visually impaired people. This list will probably differ elsewhere .

The one thing in common nationwide is that the meters chosen are cheap, and the test strips are cheaper, none of the names we are used to are being prescribed. Having said that, after a sensible discussion with my practice manager and some hard data as to the accuracy ( not!) of the Glucolab, I still have my Contour and strips and lancets are still being prescribed and will remain so.

I think what annoys me and many others was the lack of consultation with the end users, us. The choices made were determined by cost and the meters and strips barely scraping through the standards required. My findings when trialling was that the new meters compared badly in accuracy, sometimes dangerously so if the readings given were used to calculate insulin doses or determine a safe driving level. In addition, the strip errors were greatly increased, leading to strip wastage . I've been told unofficially that HCP's in this area are unhappy with the performance of the chosen meters.

Having said all that, some members on here have used them and found that they suited their needs. I fully support the need to keep prescribing costs down ( apart from my issue concerning long term effects of non prescription for Type 2's) which is why I agreed to trial the meters when they were rolled out in this area.

Signy

 

[Gaz-M]

I,ll phone my DSN and ask her to write to my Dr as I prefer the accucheck mobile for my lifestyle/job (chef) and do not have the time to start putting lancets and strips in meters

 

[Heathenlass]

It's well worth a try, @Gaz-M , with the emphasis on your job you might be lucky As a rule, it isn't good practice ( no pun intended!) to ignore a " request" by a member of the hospital team
Let us know the outcome , whatever it is ?

Good luck !

Signy

 

[himtoo]

the postcode lottery is in definite existence-- where i live so far my meter has not been mentioned in terms of changing (abbott optium -- freestyle , Neo , exceed )
exceed was not so great , neo was rubbish but my basic optium freestyle has served me well for years
my DSN gave me all 3 from hospital

 

[jgordon5]

It depends on your area , where you are in the country. Different health authorities have chosen different meters, here in Northumberland you have a choice between the Element and Glucolab , but I believe it is a different choice in Tyneside and elsewhere across the country. The meters on the discretionary list for Northumberland are Bayer, Abbott Freestyle others used together with a pump and another I can't remember the name of for visually impaired people. This list will probably differ elsewhere .

The one thing in common nationwide is that the meters chosen are cheap, and the test strips are cheaper, none of the names we are used to are being prescribed. Having said that, after a sensible discussion with my practice manager and some hard data as to the accuracy ( not!) of the Glucolab, I still have my Contour and strips and lancets are still being prescribed and will remain so.

I think what annoys me and many others was the lack of consultation with the end users, us. The choices made were determined by cost and the meters and strips barely scraping through the standards required. My findings when trialling was that the new meters compared badly in accuracy, sometimes dangerously so if the readings given were used to calculate insulin doses or determine a safe driving level. In addition, the strip errors were greatly increased, leading to strip wastage . I've been told unofficially that HCP's in this area are unhappy with the performance of the chosen meters.

Having said all that, some members on here have used them and found that they suited their needs. I fully support the need to keep prescribing costs down ( apart from my issue concerning long term effects of non prescription for Type 2's) which is why I agreed to trial the meters when they were rolled out in this area.

Signy

I was made to use a wavesense jazz by my surgery. It was the biggest load of rubbish out. Firstly if I was out walking even if it wasn't cold, I just kept getting error 4 messages - ambient temperature not in range! This was quite annoying because then I had to intuit where I was. I was fairly accurate at that before using this meter which gave me the most random readings. To cut a long story short, it caused me a lot of problems, made me pretty ill and the resulting fluctuations caused eye damage, which is thankfully stable now. I've now been allowed to choose my meter and I also now have a really good specialist diabetic nurse, which is a very welcome first. Trying to cut costs by making patients use inferior equipment will be much more costly in the long run. My surgery also wanted me to have better blood glucose control but to use less testing strips!! How?! With good machine, vegan diet and good support, BG levels are getting pretty good.

 

[jgordon5]

the postcode lottery is in definite existence-- where i live so far my meter has not been mentioned in terms of changing (abbott optium -- freestyle , Neo , exceed )
exceed was not so great , neo was rubbish but my basic optium freestyle has served me well for years
my DSN gave me all 3 from hospital

Just curious, why did you think the neo was rubbish? Seems to give very accurate readings...