Hospital Passport.

Good idea, this should be rolled out by the NHS.

Nigel

Good idea.

Hmmm I'm not wholly convinced this would be any better for insulin users than taking their log books with them. Firstly it assumes there will be staff available to read these passports, then arrange for a totally different diet to what every other patient is given and if that doesn't happen then the patients insulin regime will have to change to accommodate the new diet eaten in hospital.

Perhaps I'm just being my usual cynical self but are these adjustments really going to be made on todays busy wards at a time when cutbacks are being talked about on a daily basis?

I haven't been in hospital now for about 15 years but when I was in I was allowed to keep my insulin pens and do all my bg tests myself. I had my own meter which the nurses thought was marvelous and took my own log book in to record the results. All the nurses had to do was come round to ask me what my bg results were at different times of the day. The hospital food menu although not brilliant allowed me to choose what size portion of potatoes, veg etc I wanted. I just ticked a piece of fruit instead of a pudding. At the time I was using biphasic insulin (twice daily) so just adjusted the carb value of the food. I saved the fruit to eat as a snack mid afternoon. I took a pack of biccies in and had one mid morning as a snack and at bedtime. Looks like those days are long gone but I am sure most insulin dependant diabetics are able to look after themselves with insulin and definately do not need the help of a nurse who might be clueless anyway.

I've got the Hospital Passport but hope that I don't ever need to use it.

A few times in hospital have been quite mixed..

On one ward they let me keep my insulin and meter and test and have insulin when i saw fit. great

On another ward they took it all away and tested my BG with their own meter and one nurse wouldnt tell me what the reading was and tried to give me a very low dose of insulin as 'i couldnt possibly need that much insulin with one meal'

When i got my pump i first heard of the passport thing, which i think is a good idea as many patients know their own needs far better.

My nurse also said even though insulin pumps are becoming more well known in hospitals, they can be mistaken for MP3 players etc and on occasion in emergencies the tubing has been cut and the pump taken away!! :shock:

Im with Sid here

The Proof that passports don't help :mrgreen:





Bob