Dubiously diabetic?

You really need to find out what that Hba1c number actually is (they should be able to tell you the exact number for it rather than just 'high')
If you have online access to your records and test results they should be in there, if not it may be worth organising it with your surgery that you should) - I believe all surgeries in the UK have to allow you that option (unless they have an actual valid excuse - and 'oh we don't know how to do that' is not a valid excuse)

 

I wouldn't hang around waiting for the so called professionals.
Most their advice will prove harmful in the long run.
Become your own practitioner, research Low Carb, all the resources are here

 

Normal fasting blood glucose is 3.9 - 5.4 mmol/l so a level of 7.1 mmol/l would be diabetic. It's possible that the receptionist might have thought that it was a random blood glucose (the wrong box could have been checked on the blood test request form or the receptionist might have misread the result) - a random blood glucose is normal if it is less than 11.1 mmol/l.

You need to check the blood test results, emphasizing that the blood glucose was a fasting one and if your results are not normal, make an appointment with the doctor to discuss them.

 

All the important lifestyle improvements - nutrition, building up lean muscle mass etc - are down to you, not the medics, so maybe it doesn’t matter to much what the formal position is right now. You can just get on with improving your metabolic health under your own steam,

 

It matters because there are a host of regular checks offered when someone has been officially diagnosed. For example, anyone who has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (not gestational) should be regularly screened for diabetic retinopathy for life, even if they have improved their HbA1c to non-diabetic levels. If someone self-diagnoses and brings their HbA1c down without the doctor being aware that it has ever been at diabetic levels, they would miss out on this important check.

 

I agree that it does matter to have a formal diagnosis on your medical records.
You should be offered some lifestyle guidance but this may be rather vague so I think the advice that you will find on this forum and site will be more helpful!
But other things do go before or with, a diagnosis of type 2 and your regular tests and checks should be looking at these too:
e.g. high blood pressure, fatty liver and sometimes being overweight.
If you are willing to change your diet and exercise habits all of these things can be resolved but if you were unwilling or unable to tackle the lifestyle part of this, then I'd say it would be helpful to be in the system as you may then be offered medications to manage the symptoms.
I would take it seriously because the HBA1c is a good measure of how 'sugary# you have been in the past 12 weeks so it isn't just a random 1 off test plus you do have a family history.
The good news is that if the hba1c is indeed above 48 (in the range of diabetes) then you can come back from that and the sooner you make changes the less drastic the changes have to be. So please chase the surgery and ask for the Diabetes Nurse to check for you. You can then at least choose what to do next.