Libre May might help

Somehow I doubt it will help - The government is the reason the NHS is in such a state, making most areas unable to offer these devices, due to costing.. Whether they admit that or make some other excuse not to provide them

May has her Libre, and is in a position to not have to think about the ongoing cost of using it. That's all that matters to her lol

Just my 2 cents...

I pay no attention to politics, because they're all a bunch of untrustworthy ferrets, but I think behind the scenes, the high level people in the nhs are saying to the lower lower level guys, suck up the short term cost, because the main cost of diabetes is dealing with treatment for complications caused by being out of range, and these little gadgets help people stay in range, so you'll see the benefits in the long term. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

There's been a couple of posts recently where a few folk around Manchester have actually got libre on prescription! Their docs are maybe going to get put on the naughty step by their ccg for prescribing before it's been ccg approved, but there's going to be a quiet groundswell of people turning up at their gp/hospital, telling them, look how much better my results are, look how much more engaged I am with this, and docs will end up saying, yes, it's f***ing obvious that these are good things, why were we bothered about funding them?

I wrote to Mrs May the week she became Prime Minister as I had seen an interview she gave where she was asked about her diabetes. She commented that the finger pricking was painful but had to be done. I pointed out that the Freestyle Libra system was available but not on the NHS. I received a nice letter back from her Private Secretary which more or less said that The Prime Minister was not aware of this system, but thanked me for bringing it to her attention. It would appear that she is now using it and of course her government stated that it would be available on the NHS from November 1st. The fact that so few (if any) CCG's are making them available is not her fault. I would urge anyone who uses this system to lobby their M.P. as I have done to try and make these faceless civil servants in CCG's see sense.

ive just been given the libre on a 2 week free trial my dn has given me a letter for gp to see if he would prescribe the sensors but it is up to gp wether he chooses to as they are now available on prescription but are at the gps discretion heres hoping

karen8967 said:

ive just been given the libre on a 2 week free trial my dn has given me a letter for gp to see if he would prescribe the sensors but it is up to gp wether he chooses to as they are now available on prescription but are at the gps discretion heres hoping

Click to expand...

So the GP could refuse even if the diabetes specialists say so.....?

That cant be right surely...

novorapidboi26 said:

So the GP could refuse even if the diabetes specialists say so.....?

That cant be right surely...

Click to expand...

yes because you can get it on prescription if your gp will prescribe it but it is still under review with pan mersey at present (not sure what pan mersey is but its on my letter from dn to gp

karen8967 said:

yes because you can get it on prescription if your gp will prescribe it but it is still under review with pan mersey at present (not sure what pan mersey is but its on my letter from dn to gp

Click to expand...

Oh right, I am kind of talking about a situation where it has been approved for prescription in a certain area.......the GP couldn't refuse it then....thats what I mean....

novorapidboi26 said:

Oh right, I am kind of talking about a situation where it has been approved for prescription in a certain area.......the GP couldn't refuse it then....thats what I mean....

Click to expand...

I think he could at the moment

karen8967 said:

I think he could at the moment

Click to expand...

Well yeah, he cant prescribe something that isn't there....

OK, live in Northumberland and have just got back from seeing my Doctor about getting this on prescription. The short answer is that my local CCG are still "discussing" the issue but at the moment the answer is no. Will it be available for all type 1 diabetics ? it would appear the answer is again no, only for those who can prove that it is of benefit. My Doctor will put my name forward but does not know when or if the system will be approved. So no real change I'm afraid. .
Next step, I am going to email the P.M. again and ask her to "kick start" this being funded by local CCG's I will also ask her if she has noticed an improvement in her bloods since using the Freestyle system. Don't know about anyone else who uses it, but I must test my bloods at least 15 - 20 times a day now and have much better control compared to just finger pricking.

I would guess that part of the decision as to whether or not to recommend/approve a Libre for a Type 1 has to do with how likely they think a particular person would benefit from it, be able to use it correctly/safely, interpret the data correctly, adjust their insulin and diet based on it, troubleshoot any problems with it. Plus I would imagine not all of your "surgeries" are equipped/staffed to deal with one either. There's a lot more to one of these than there is to a glucometer and strips.

petdell said:

My original point was,without stating the obviose. That the mere fact that Mrs May uses the libre, means the door is half open. It's up to us to kick it the rest of the way.

Click to expand...

Good luck with that! TM is only interested in her own well being.