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finding a new GP

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sofaraway

Well-Known Member
Messages
183
Location
United Kingdom
So the situation I'm in is I'm moving house so will be moving out of my GP catchment area. I've not had any real serious problems with my diabetes care (it took a few prescritions for them to sort me out 200 per time). So i don't want to now register somewhere thats rubbish.

so I thought about what I want

at least 200 test strips per month
once yearly screening feet/BP
3 monthly A1c's
6 monthly full bloods (chlesterol, kideneys etc)
once yearly retinal screening

this is what i have now and don't think I would be asking for anything unreasonable, do you guys?

So I thought I'd ring a couple of doctors sugeries near to where i'll be living to see if I could find out what they offered. not as easy as I'd have thought.

maybe it's getting past the receptionists but it appears that you can't get to speak to anyone or ask these questions until you have registered and made an appointment. which seems a bit rubbish because what if you end up registering and they then don't want to give me any test strips. it'll be a hassle to fight or change doctors.

any ideas on how to get around it or past the receptionists? or can you really not find out this type of information before you register?
 
You could try asking to speak to the practice manager?
Failing that is there a Diabetes group in the area, maybe you could contact the group chair and ask them for a recommendation?
Finally, try talking to somebody at your new PCT. They will surely be able to tell you where you will most likely get the best diabetic support!

Good luck, here's hoping you find a brilliant new doctor who will have the facilities to look after you!

Regards
 
You could try talking to a local pharmacist. They should know which GPs prescribe lots of strips, and if you smile at them sweetly they might be persuaded to share this information!
 
You'll be very lucky if you getthose test strips even for a type 1. Contact diabetes UK, they may have lists of Gps treating diabetics. Are you moving far? If not, your current doctor mighthelp you.
 

Hi

I think if you move to a new area and your diabetes is well controlled, the following will be carried out:-

Teststrips will most likely be limited to 150 per month
Your feet will be checked once a year
Hba1c will be done every 6 months
Full blood count (cholestrol, kidneys etc) done once a year
Retinal screening done once a year
 
sofaraway said:
at least 200 test strips per month
once yearly screening feet/BP
3 monthly A1c's
6 monthly full bloods (chlesterol, kideneys etc)
once yearly retinal screening
Click to expand...

I am new to all this and seem to be on a 6 monthly A1C check routine, had my first appt in June after inital DKA hospital admission in April and have just been sent an appt for end of January. I am also struggling to get enough test strips (although after my complaint to my GP for not picking up my type 1 1 week before and then 2 days before my before my stay in the hospital HDU I just have to make sure I ask the right doctor as he is keen to help me now!!!)

Just wanted to warn you, but it may well depend on the area and the doctor. For instance my sister who has epilepsy and so also doesn't pay has a doctor who asks her what she needs - she even gets ibuprofen etc on her prescription (medication which is completely unrelated to her condition).

Louise
 
on my repeat prescription I have 8 boxes of one touch ultra strips (4oo strips in total) and also 2 boxes (100 strips) of Ascensia Microfill strips.
 
Where do you live? I want to go there, I'm not allowed repeats of strips. I can get a few by "cadging" which, thanks to my saintly GP, I sometimes get, but according to my PCT policy, as a stable ontrolled type 2, I only need to test "1 - 2 times a week at different times of day" and entitled to "2 boxes of strips per year". I'm quoting from Berkshire PCTs Policy document 75
 
I'm type one on multi dose insulins (humalog and lantus), so I test my blood all the time! It saves me going up there all the time to get a new prescription.
 
I get my repeat prescriptions (without test strips) by phoning the pharmacy, which is 10 minutes walk away. They tell me when It will be ready and it always is. the service is VERY reliable. and so helpful. I do have to think a head though, because it takes about a week. I'm inclined to forget tto factor in the weekends. I use tablets every day, but the pharmacyis closed on Sundays.
 
I also get 400 strips on repeat, they have never queried this and I find it amazing that some docotors will not presribe you something that would help you maintain your own level of health, surely this could save money on treatment in the future for complications caused by high BS. I am sure my doc feels guilty though as he did not think that I needed a GT test even though I had had type 1 gestational and was testing and getting constant BS of above 20, he told me it was because I had a cold. I booked my own test for 2 weeks later, by this point I had lost 1 stone( I was only 9 st before) and was testing positive for ketones. It was amazing that I was in my surgery telling my doc what I thought he should do because he was panicing and talking about coma's. I am shocked by how little knowledge many docs seem to have about diabetes, even last time I went in he was talking about putting tablets and taking me off insulin. Thank god he does not treat me and the hospital (DSN)does. sorry for rambling.
 
I sometimes think doctors are clueless, I was given a Diabetes Specialist Nurse to talk to a few years ago if I had any questions and whenever I phoned to ask her something her answer always "I don't know, I'll just go and ask someone" then she would put me on hold! She is a nurse who is a "Diabetes Specialist" yet she never knew!!
My mum always says they learn from us but make it look like their idea!!!
 
I think that Diabetes Nurses vary wildly in how useful they are. Some of them have a lot of practical experience, are widely read and know more about diabetes than most non-specialist doctors. However, the training they are given doesn't necessarily make them the experts that one would hope they are. I recently had some time to kill in a medical library, and out of interest I went browsing through some of the diabetes textbooks in the nursing section. Although these looked to be well-thumbed books in current use, I was surprised at quite how rudimentary and dated they were.
 
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