Hospital Accused

[Robinredbreast]

This is my local hospital and on the front cover of a local newspaper.

CLAIMS THAT PEOPLE WITH DIABETES MAY BE AT INCREASED RISK OF FOOT AMPUTATION IS DENIED.

Allegations that people with diabetes may be at an increased risk of foot amputations because ******* hospital does not have a specialist diabetes footcare team have been refuted by the hospital. The no-nonsense claim is made by campaigners Diabetes UK who describe the situation as' appalling' insisting the hospital has not implmented special prodecures that could potentially prevent such incidents. But the hospital strenuously denies this is the case. Jill Steaton, south east manager for Diabetes UK, says. Everyone agrees specialist footcare teams are important for preventing amputations and can save the NHS money.

This is quite a long article and I have just put some of the main points on here.

This is a quote from the hospital. However, D G, chief nurse and deputy cheif executive, said " We do in fact have a multi-disciplinary team who work closely together to mamge patients with diabetic disease. The team review patients with complex foot problems on an outpatient basis. Where patients are identified as needing the expertise of the team, these reviews take place within 48 hrs"

Thankfully, I do not have any diabetic related foot problems, no cuts, sores or ulcers. But what if I did have, seeing that on the front page does not fill me with hope Do you know if your hospital has these specialist teams and was the care good and efficent, if you had any treatment. It is a worry, isn't it? Is it the same for other hospitals I wonder? Best wishes RRB

 

[catherinecherub]

There are 75 Hospitals in England and 9 in Wales that are in the same category.
http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/specialist-di ... re-urged-2

 

[phoenix]

There are a lot of similar reports all over the country, Diabetes UK has got some excellent publicity over this particularly at a local level.
There were 84 hospitals in England and Wales, out of the 206 surveyed, that were found to have no specialist diabetes foot-care teams
The full list is here
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/New ... hout-MDTs/
Diabetes UK says

"We also want to let people with diabetes who live near these hospitals know about this, because if they develop a foot ulcer then having one of these teams in place could mean the difference between them keeping a foot and losing it. I would urge them to write to their local hospital's trust to make their feelings known and so add their voices to ours.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/New ... are-teams/

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I reported some time ago that my local hospital has been pronounced bankrupt and the receivers have taken it over, they announced last week that they had approached the private sector to bid to run it.

I predict much cherry picking of services, I cant help wondering who will want to bid for services like diabetes clinics that make no money but cost millions to run, its only surgery where the big bucks are made so I foresee a very grim future for patients in South East London in the not to distant future.

The NHS is basically screwed and no one seems to want to sort it out

 

[dawnmc]

And they are stuck in their ways too, so we are snookered.

 

[anna29]

Hi All.
After reading this I have thought if this was to happen to me - foot ulcer etc...?
I would "YES" probably dip into my own pocket and pay for treatment to save my foot/leg !!!!!
It is a reasonable reaction when terrified of possible complications, including leading to amputation.
Surely this is bound to push people to do EXACTLY this ..... PAY for their own footcare!
It IS scary and wrong but it 'can' happen given how things are taking shape with hospitals footcare
depts,teams,funding.
We do have just one footcare dept,team where I live but they are changing how they do things
there, immensly and rapidly... Clearly being hit with lack of funds etc... :thumbdown:
It is alarming and a worry for our future.
Anna.

 

[noblehead]

The NHS is basically screwed and no one seems to want to sort it out

Unfortunately it does seem the case :thumbdown:

 

[Robinredbreast]

The NHS is basically screwed and no one seems to want to sort it out

Unfortunately it does seem the case :thumbdown:

Its no wonder when things like this happen:-Daily Mirror 24 August 2012

Baby flight mum runs up £10,000 bill on NHS :shock:

A pregant may have cost the NHS £10,000 by flying 3,000 miles from Nigeria to have her baby delivered here in the UK. Her baby was born safely and they left cash strapped Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester. Out little island is being slowly sunk into the surrounding sea, WAKE UP government or you wont have a beautiful little country left to goven. Had a bit of a rant there :x ggrrrrrr RRB

 

[iHs]

Hmmmm
'
I've just seen my hospital mentioned in the link posted by Phoenix. I dont think it's correct as I have excellent podiatary care within the diabetes clinic I attend every so many months when I see my consultant. I'm dam sure that the podiatrist I see certainly knows his stuff and would refer me straight away if he thought I had an ulcer that was not healing... I will be seeing him for my yearly foot check very soon so I will ask him exactly what is what.....

 

[picklebean]

'
I've just seen my hospital mentioned in the link posted by Phoenix. I dont think it's correct as I have excellent podiatary care within the diabetes clinic I attend every so many months when I see my consultant.

Yes, I agree. I think that list is either outdated or misleading.

My hospital is on the list and yet I have my feet checked once a year for appearance, pulses and nerve sensitivity at my general check-up. If I have any issue with my feet I can see the doctor or specialist nurse within a fairly short time. I also know there is a weekly foot clinic in the specilist diabetes centre for anyone who has a diabetes-related foot condition.


So I'm not entirely sure that the reports are accurate or helpful. I understand the need for good foot care for diabetics and the immediate need for hospitals that don't provide any care to do so asap, but we also need accurate reporting of figures, or at least more detailed information! It may be that these hospitals do not have a team of people dedicated to foot care for diabetics, but I suspect a lot of them do have adequate procedures in place for patients within the framework of their overall diabetes care team.

 

[phoenix]

The list is compiled from those who the audit found did not provide referral to a multi-disciplinary team within 24 hours.

One of the reasons for the high levels of preventable amputations is that diabetic foot problems can deteriorate very quickly – this is why people with diabetes who have foot ulcers should be referred to an MDT within 24 hours. There is evidence that MDTs are effective at preventing diabetic amputations; because amputations are so expensive to treat, MDTs can also save the NHS money

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/New ... are-teams/
It was based on an in patient audit so the question actually applied to people with diabetes who are admitted to the hospital.
You can actually look at your own hospitals responses to a variety of questions (In excel form)
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/services/national- ... s/diabetes
click on the Updated, Hospital level analysis. for either England or Wales.
When it loads you can select your hospital from a list.

 

[picklebean]

thanks phoenix, that's really helpful!! :thumbup:

 

[Pickwick]

I've been a T2 for about 6 years now. After a 10-minute diagnosis I was prescribed Metformin and promised all the usual checks. Podiatry took a year of desk-thumping to get - eye checks took twice that long. The eye checks have been more or less yearly since. Never had much real dietary help beyond unhelpful leaflets.

The last time I saw the podiatrist, she warned me against cutting my own toenails - I told her they'd be 6 inches long if I didn't. She also did some checks, told me I was at 'medium risk' with my feet and gave me an appropriate leaflet. She got back to me later to say my results had been checked by a consultant who now placed my feet at 'high risk.' What was the difference? I got a different leaflet!!! That was over a year ago - not a dicky bird since.

Even practice nurse sessions have fallen off - went from 3 months to 6 months after a year or so (fair enough) - but then kept getting further and further apart. I realised recently I haven't seen the PN in a year now. Phoning to enquire why both practice nurse and podiatry sessions seem to have vanished, I was told it was my own fault for not ringing for appointments (what happened to the NHS computer system?) OK - so could I have appointments, please? Yes - both are weeks away, despite my telling them I have a couple of nasty sores on my legs courtesy of insect bites. So I think I'd better hit my GP's waiting room tomorrow if I want to get their attention.

I've resigned myself to the fact I can get little or nothing out of the NHS without making a thorough nuisance of myself. I suppose I'm lucky in that I get free repeat prescriptions for my metformin and some strips, and have simply accepted that the priorities of my local NHS Trust ('local' general hospital 40 miles away) have a lot to do with high salaries at the top and very little to do with patient care.