That pesky cholesterol again!

KK123

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Just back from a routine 'diabetes' appointment but at the GP's (not the hospital where I am well overdue a Consultant's appointment but have heard nothing for 4 months).

I tried to get a print out of a recent blood test but she said that would cost me £10 and I'm not paying that out of principle, they don't do on line results. She did write down what she considered the main bits which are as follow;

Hba1c - 6.5% (Happy enough with that because I have not been on insulin for 3 months as they think I am in the honeymoon period and my levels were going low when using the insulin).
Cholesterol: Total 8 (!), HDL 2.57, LDL 5.16 and trigs 0.6.
The Doc said 'What are you eating to cause that' which put me in combative mood. I explained my fairly low carb (50g) and said yes I had been eating 30 to 50g of cheese and a lot of nuts! She said cut out the cheese, stop the nuts as they were 'full of fat' and then handed me a low fat diet sheet.
Then she said see you in 3 months and if your cholesterol is still high we can talk about statins.
All I can say is that that will be an interesting conversation. They simply do not think outside their NHS box, my bmi/blood pressure/exercise level and all of that is spot on but she still spoke about 'what sweets etc do you eat' until she looked finally at the trigs and said 'oh yes, you must be following a good diet'.

Sigh.
 
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dbr10

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Just back from a routine 'diabetes' appointment but at the GP's (not the hospital where I am well overdue a Consultant's appointment but have heard nothing for 4 months).

I tried to get a print out of a recent blood test but she said that would cost me £10 and I'm not paying that out of principle, they don't do on line results. She did write down what she considered the main bits which are as follow;

Hba1c - 6.5% (Happy enough with that because I have not been on insulin for 3 months as they think I am in the honeymoon period and my levels were going low when using the insulin).
Cholesterol: Total 8 (!), HDL 2.57, LDL 5.16 and trigs 0.6.
The Doc said 'What are you eating to cause that' which put me in combative mood. I explained my fairly low carb (50g) and said yes I had been eating 30 to 50g of cheese and a lot of nuts! She said cut out the cheese, stop the nuts as they were 'full of fat' and then handed me a low fat diet sheet.
Then she said see you in 3 months and if your cholesterol is still high we can talk about statins.
All I can say is that that will be an interesting conversation. They simply do not think outside their NHS box, my bmi/blood pressure/exercise level and all of that is spot on but she still spoke about 'what sweets etc do you eat' until she looked finally at the trigs and said 'oh yes, you must be following a good diet'.

Sigh.
So, just contradictory then. It is disgraceful trying to charge £10 for the information which the Government says they should be providing anyway.
 
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Guzzler

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The surgery should now be providing an online service due to changes in legislation. This is in England, not sure about the rest of the UK. If they do not provide this service then they cannot therefore charge you for information that it is in your rights to have. I advise you get in touch with the practice manager on this issue.
 
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KK123

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The surgery should now be providing an online service due to changes in legislation. This is in England, not sure about the rest of the UK. If they do not provide this service then they cannot therefore charge you for information that it is in your rights to have. I advise you get in touch with the practice manager on this issue.
Hi Guzzler, I'm in Solihull right in the middle of the Midlands! Yes, I will do that because I doubt she would have written down the rest of the print out (ie sodium, potassium liver function etc), it would have taken half an hour and you only get 10 mins.
 
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Daibell

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The surgery should now be providing an online service due to changes in legislation. This is in England, not sure about the rest of the UK. If they do not provide this service then they cannot therefore charge you for information that it is in your rights to have. I advise you get in touch with the practice manager on this issue.
I agree. Your surgery was instructed a year ago as part of the NHS to provide online access to your test records. There are two levels of access and I had to request the second level which actually gives you full blood test results etc. You need to have a little chat with the Practice Manager.
 
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Bluetit1802

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As far as I am aware, the £10 charge is for full medical records, NOT for the latest blood test results. They are on 2 sheets of A4, printed off the computer, so cost them nothing. You could even try the receptionist. Mine is very obliging - or was when I was getting them. I have had them on-line for 2 years now. All English surgeries were asked to have this facility available before May 2016. There are very few that don't comply. If you have access to appointments and repeats on line, there is no problem. They just press a button and hey presto, your results are there once you sign the consent form, and mine go back years. Mine show up within 24 hours of a morning blood test.

As for the cholesterol, what a load of contradictory rubbish, and more low fat nonsense. Your trigs and HDL are stupendous, which means your LDL particles will be mostly the big fluffy ones that can be classed as good cholesterol. Was this a doctor or a nurse?
 
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mousemat

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Type of diabetes
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Just back from a routine 'diabetes' appointment but at the GP's (not the hospital where I am well overdue a Consultant's appointment but have heard nothing for 4 months).

I tried to get a print out of a recent blood test but she said that would cost me £10 and I'm not paying that out of principle, they don't do on line results. She did write down what she considered the main bits which are as follow;

Hba1c - 6.5% (Happy enough with that because I have not been on insulin for 3 months as they think I am in the honeymoon period and my levels were going low when using the insulin).
Cholesterol: Total 8 (!), HDL 2.57, LDL 5.16 and trigs 0.6.
The Doc said 'What are you eating to cause that' which put me in combative mood. I explained my fairly low carb (50g) and said yes I had been eating 30 to 50g of cheese and a lot of nuts! She said cut out the cheese, stop the nuts as they were 'full of fat' and then handed me a low fat diet sheet.
Then she said see you in 3 months and if your cholesterol is still high we can talk about statins.
All I can say is that that will be an interesting conversation. They simply do not think outside their NHS box, my bmi/blood pressure/exercise level and all of that is spot on but she still spoke about 'what sweets etc do you eat' until she looked finally at the trigs and said 'oh yes, you must be following a good diet'.

Sigh.



If they are going to charge you £10, ask for a Subject Acess Request.. that’s everything in your medical file ( maybe some exclusions) .

Which has to be provided by law. But as it can mean reams of work, they might give you the latest results free to avoid doing it. - Especially if you request it to be on paper.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisation...on/principle-6-rights/subject-access-request/
 
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gailshoney

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So, just contradictory then. It is disgraceful trying to charge £10 for the information which the Government says they should be providing anyway.
My GP and hospital provided a copy of my last 5 years records free of charge. The only charge was for copies of scans which were on CD's. I thought it was NHS policy to provide you with a copy of your records free of charge if requested.
 
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dbr10

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My GP and hospital provided a copy of my last 5 years records free of charge. The only charge was for copies of scans which were on CD's. I thought it was NHS policy to provide you with a copy of your records free of charge if requested.
It is since 2016. I've posted a comment on NHS choices that the practice doesn't appear to do this. Waiting to see it there is a response.
 

mogalobs

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Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I had to pay £13.40 for the last Blood test results in December 2017 cos it was £10 plus the cost per sheet of Photostatting. I live in Lincolnshire
 

dbr10

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Why did they have to photocopy it? They have the information on the system. Surely, they just need to print it. Seems to be turning into a scam at some practices.
 

KK123

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As far as I am aware, the £10 charge is for full medical records, NOT for the latest blood test results. They are on 2 sheets of A4, printed off the computer, so cost them nothing. You could even try the receptionist. Mine is very obliging - or was when I was getting them. I have had them on-line for 2 years now. All English surgeries were asked to have this facility available before May 2016. There are very few that don't comply. If you have access to appointments and repeats on line, there is no problem. They just press a button and hey presto, your results are there once you sign the consent form, and mine go back years. Mine show up within 24 hours of a morning blood test.

As for the cholesterol, what a load of contradictory rubbish, and more low fat nonsense. Your trigs and HDL are stupendous, which means your LDL particles will be mostly the big fluffy ones that can be classed as good cholesterol. Was this a doctor or a nurse?
Hi bluetit, it was the Doctor.
 

KK123

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As a result of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into effect over the whole of the EU on the 25th May 2018, doctors will no longer be able to charge for copies of medical records from that date onwards - not even for the paper and ink.

https://www.eugdpr.org/

Hope this helps.
Yes it does, thank you for that, I will be back in that surgery very soon.
 
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KK123

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If they are going to charge you £10, ask for a Subject Acess Request.. that’s everything in your medical file ( maybe some exclusions) .

Which has to be provided by law. But as it can mean reams of work, they might give you the latest results free to avoid doing it. - Especially if you request it to be on paper.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisation...on/principle-6-rights/subject-access-request/
If they are going to charge you £10, ask for a Subject Acess Request.. that’s everything in your medical file ( maybe some exclusions) .

Which has to be provided by law. But as it can mean reams of work, they might give you the latest results free to avoid doing it. - Especially if you request it to be on paper.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisation...on/principle-6-rights/subject-access-request/
Hi mousemat, I will do that. It's a real pain that they can't just give me a flipping print out of my latest results but yes, I like your style.
 
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Bluetit1802

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Hi bluetit, it was the Doctor.

I think he was misunderstanding what you wanted. I am sure a £10 charge is appropriate for full medical records, but all you wanted was a computer print out of your last blood test results. There should be no charge for these. If I were you I would ring reception and ask the receptionist for a print out of the blood test results that you can collect from the surgery.
 

KK123

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I think he was misunderstanding what you wanted. I am sure a £10 charge is appropriate for full medical records, but all you wanted was a computer print out of your last blood test results. There should be no charge for these. If I were you I would ring reception and ask the receptionist for a print out of the blood test results that you can collect from the surgery.
Hi bluetit, there was no misunderstanding. I told her specifically what I wanted and she said that will cost a tenner but she would write down the main results for me to 'save' my money and did write down the cholesterol results. I then spoke to her about why it cost a tenner for a blood test print out and she said that was just what they charged. I then said so I need to pay a tenner at least 3 times a year (for the print out) and she said, sorry, yes.
 

dbr10

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Hi bluetit, there was no misunderstanding. I told her specifically what I wanted and she said that will cost a tenner but she would write down the main results for me to 'save' my money and did write down the cholesterol results. I then spoke to her about why it cost a tenner for a blood test print out and she said that was just what they charged. I then said so I need to pay a tenner at least 3 times a year (for the print out) and she said, sorry, yes.
Awful.
 

maureen5752

Well-Known Member
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1,052
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As far as I am aware, the £10 charge is for full medical records, NOT for the latest blood test results. They are on 2 sheets of A4, printed off the computer, so cost them nothing. You could even try the receptionist. Mine is very obliging - or was when I was getting them. I have had them on-line for 2 years now. All English surgeries were asked to have this facility available before May 2016. There are very few that don't comply. If you have access to appointments and repeats on line, there is no problem. They just press a button and hey presto, your results are there once you sign the consent form, and mine go back years. Mine show up within 24 hours of a morning blood test.

As for the cholesterol, what a load of contradictory rubbish, and more low fat nonsense. Your trigs and HDL are stupendous, which means your LDL particles will be mostly the big fluffy ones that can be classed as good cholesterol. Was this a doctor or a nurse?
Hi It's is £10 for recent blood tests results only, I was told recently & I refused to pay. Years ago I needed some medicinal info & had to pay £50 & didn't get all the info I needed & that was few years ago. It is £10 for recent blood results. I refuse to pay