Hello...just thought I'd peek in!

[Heathenlass]

Life is going well for both of us now. My daughter will be 10 in October and is doing just great. She has done so much in her little life already, including living in Australia for 2 years.

My diabetes care in Australia was fantastic. I think it helped that my diabetes nurse was T1 diabetic too, so she fully understood the condition! We came back to the UK last September so my diabetes care was set up at the diabetes centre at the old general hospital in Newcastle. It's certainly not closed down now! My first appointment was in December which went ok. Although I have been told that my consultant I saw back then has now left the centre so my appointment next week is with another consultant. Hopefully that will be ok. I wasn't totally impressed during my first appointment though! We'll see what happens next Tuesday!

Fantastic! I'm so glad that things have worked out for you both Australia sounds fabulous

The Diabetes Centre at the General used to be a dedicated building that was purely for diabetes care, something of a one stop shop. When the General closed down, so did that centre, but was eventually relocated to where I imagine you go now, in the lovely sounding "Campus for Ageing and Vitality " I went to the original centre, then moved areas before the relocation , so haven't been to the new place. I'm told it's much smaller and not as good as it used to be in terms of accessability (parking! Gah!) Why they couldn't have left the original building open and running is beyond me

I don't know what the care is like there now, but others have told me there is a rapid turnover in staff, and it's not as user friendly as the old place . I will be interested to know how you get on and what your opinions are I've been out of the loop regarding clinics for a long time, so I'm curious what Hexham will be like when that referral finally goes through !

Signy

 

[Geordie lass]

Fantastic! I'm so glad that things have worked out for you both Australia sounds fabulous

The Diabetes Centre at the General used to be a dedicated building that was purely for diabetes care, something of a one stop shop. When the General closed down, so did that centre, but was eventually relocated to where I imagine you go now, in the lovely sounding "Campus for Ageing and Vitality " I went to the original centre, then moved areas before the relocation , so haven't been to the new place. I'm told it's much smaller and not as good as it used to be in terms of accessability (parking! Gah!) Why they couldn't have left the original building open and running is beyond me

I don't know what the care is like there now, but others have told me there is a rapid turnover in staff, and it's not as user friendly as the old place . I will be interested to know how you get on and what your opinions are I've been out of the loop regarding clinics for a long time, so I'm curious what Hexham will be like when that referral finally goes through !

Signy

You are soooo right. I have been there only twice now (December 2013 and April 2014) and both times I didn't feel particularly comfortable. I suppose I had such good care previously in Australia and at North Tyneside General Hospital (where I was prior to moving to Oz), so my expectations of the Newcastle General (Campus for Aging and Vitality! ) was very high. That's probably why I was disappointed after my first visit! There was some parking outside but recently they have changed all of this to disabled parking. So not many parking bays for us young uns! The part of the building where it is now situated is very old, very bland and not very cheerful for the patients waiting to see the consultants! I might suggest this during my next visit to cheer up the centre for the patients (hah! Bet that won't happen!). Will update you after my next appointment which is next Tuesday!

 

[Heathenlass]

Hey Michelle,
I just had a thought .... If you decide after Tuesday that you really don't like the General, could you ask for a referral to Rake Lane instead ? I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem, as it's the same HA and your records will be on the same system .

Signy

 

[Geordie lass]

Hey Michelle,
I just had a thought .... If you decide after Tuesday that you really don't like the General, could you ask for a referral to Rake Lane instead ? I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem, as it's the same HA and your records will be on the same system .

Signy

Hi Heathenlass, that is a brilliant thought....but Rake Lane is too far to travel to for an appointment that lasts less than 20 minutes! I just thought that each diabetes centre covers patients who live within that local authority! I probably could just attend my GP practice for my checks but I don't rate that surgery either! Oh well, good old NHS! Will stick with the General for now. After all, my appointments are only every 3 months for now, hopefully they will change to every 6 months at some point. But, thanks for your suggestion. Oh, and the General is meant to be a specialist pump centre too!

 

[Heathenlass]

Hi Heathenlass, that is a brilliant thought....but Rake Lane is too far to travel to for an appointment that lasts less than 20 minutes! I just thought that each diabetes centre covers patients who live within that local authority! I probably could just attend my GP practice for my checks but I don't rate that surgery either! Oh well, good old NHS! Will stick with the General for now. After all, my appointments are only every 3 months for now, hopefully they will change to every 6 months at some point. But, thanks for your suggestion. Oh, and the General is meant to be a specialist pump centre too!

Ahhh...I see... I suppose it depends on where you are in proximity to each clinic. I thought the only options for me were The Centre for Ageing" though that's miles away, but recently found out Hexham have a diabetic clinic so asked to be referred to there from my rubbish GP's

20 minutes doesn't sound very long for an appointment when you are using a pump ! Granted, mine were very quickly over , sort of :"Ah, your still alive then... must do better with the HB's....... byeeee !" but I inject

I gather that 20 minutes is NOT including the 50 minute wait

Signy

 

[sunday1980]

The consultant told me that gestational diabetes does go away once the baby is born but it is a precursor to getting T2 sometime along the road! but she then went on to tell me that my diabetes wouldn't be going anywhere and I had after care following my child being born in the October time. I had to go to the hospital in December 2004 for a GTT. My daughter is doing well. She has had a very good life and still does!

Yes they seem to turn out quite well regardless of how we are whilst pregnant she's super full of energy! Must have been all the extra sugar she got in my tummy lol x

 

[Geordie lass]

Ahhh...I see... I suppose it depends on where you are in proximity to each clinic. I thought the only options for me were The Centre for Ageing" though that's miles away, but recently found out Hexham have a diabetic clinic so asked to be referred to there from my rubbish GP's

20 minutes doesn't sound very long for an appointment when you are using a pump ! Granted, mine were very quickly over , sort of :"Ah, your still alive then... must do better with the HB's....... byeeee !" but I inject

I gather that 20 minutes is NOT including the 50 minute wait

Signy

Yeah, the General is closest to me, although it still takes me 20 minutes to get there. Probably be quicker to go to Hexham!!! My last appointment didnt even last 5 minutes with my consultant! He just pretty much said "your HbA1c has increased slightly" and that was that!!!! Oh well, hope my new consultant is a bit more chatty! My weight has dropped and hopefully my HbA1c would have too as Ive been having a lot of hypos with my new eating regime. Ive almost halved my basal rates and my bolus rates have decreased almost to nothing, which is great! So I am hoping that this new consultant will be pleased about all of that.

The waiting is the killer. I waited over 30 minutes last time for that 5 minute consultation! What a waste of time! Oh well, nothing much can be done about that I suppose...just sit and wait...