Visit to Doctor This AM

[sheepie123]

Hi Folks,

I went to the Doctor this morning to ask about getting a referal to the Diabetic Eye Clinic in Northern Ireland. He laughed and said I don't need to go there and only if I noticed fluid inside my eye. I said but what about the screening.

He said they run the screening once per year and his clinic has not been used yet. He said that Specsavers can easily do the same tests that the Diabetic eye clinic can do and if I have problems I should goto them. He said in-fact some NHS places in england use specsavers as their diagnostic location instead of having a dedicated clinic.

I have had type 2 for about 9 months now so I am concerned I still havent had the initial scan.

I also told him that I brought my blood sugars down from 7.6 to 5.4 fasting and told him that the Metformin gave me a 'little' bit of benefit.

He said we should look at increasing it to 3 pills per day. (I have noticed that if I skip Metformin for many days in a row my blood sugar stays relatively stable so why he is suggesting more pills when I am doing good is really disheartening).

What should I do - I have already little trust for my doctor so I am strongly thinking of leaving the practice.

Cheers,

 

[mo53]

@sheepie123 I've never heard of spec savers being used but I'm sure that with all of the U.K. Users on here that someone will let you know. I have had an eye test for retinopathy every year since I was diagnosed. It is a means of catching problems early and an important check , I would have thought. I hope other posters will help ro vide more information.

 

[tristan]

I have had 3 scans now over my time but never at specsavers, but I do know that if you go get an eye test when they look at your eye they would spot any problems and prompt you to go to your doctor. So maybe go get an eye test to put your mind at ease. But I wouldn't worry just now about your test as it's only 9 months. Unless you have eye troubles ??

I'm on metformin and take 4 a day currently. Don't really want to take them for ever so hoping to lower the dose when my HBAC1 proves I can.

 

[dancer]

What did he mean by ". . . his clinic has not been used yet"? Did he mean you won't be screened for a month or two, or did he mean no one in his clinic has been screened?

I think you should go ahead and look for a decent doctor!

 

[Mr_Pot]

The early stages of retinopathy do not affect your eyesight so you need a scan. I had mine at the local hospital in Berkshire within a month of diagnosis. Specsavers do scan your retina as part of the normal eye test, at least mine does. According to the hospital their scans are higher resolution and assessed by specialists but a Specsavers scan would be much better than none.

 

[Deleted Account]

My understanding is the NHS should provide you with a retinal scan.
If we have diabetes, we are entitled to a free eye-check at any opticians (e.g. SpecSavers). However, this does not include the full retina scan.

 

[librarising]

Here's the website for the NI Diabetic Eye Screening Programme
http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/d...ning/diabetic-eye-screening-programme-also-kn

I note "screening is carried out across Northern Ireland at GP practices and static sites."
Unless you're near Belfast's Forster Green Hospital.

A phone call (number on the webpage) may get you some answers
Geoff

 

[Bluetit1802]

The diabetes eye screening is an image of the retina. It is quite different from an eye sight test. Some NHS areas do say you can use certain opticians but from what I have heard they don't all do the imaging screening, and personally I don't trust Specsavers to do correct sight tests never mind a retinal image screening.

Once a year the national NHS eye screening unit comes to my local surgery and all diabetics are called in. They put drops in your eyes to enlarge the pupils then take photos.

 

[sheepie123]

What did he mean by ". . . his clinic has not been used yet"? Did he mean you won't be screened for a month or two, or did he mean no one in his clinic has been screened?

I think you should go ahead and look for a decent doctor!

He said that it happens once per year and he hasent heard anything in the next few months. I had afew floaters in my eyes and I did have specsavers staff spend 30 minutes looking both with computer / 2 pressure tests and manually and found nothing untoward.

 

[sheepie123]

Here's the website for the NI Diabetic Eye Screening Programme
http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/d...ning/diabetic-eye-screening-programme-also-kn

I note "screening is carried out across Northern Ireland at GP practices and static sites."
Unless you're near Belfast's Forster Green Hospital.

A phone call (number on the webpage) may get you some answers
Geoff

I called them they said that I needed a referral from my doctor.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I called them they said that I needed a referral from my doctor.

If you are on the diabetic register at your surgery (and you should be) there should be an automatic referal. You need to chase this up.

 

[librarising]

I called them they said that I needed a referral from my doctor.

Your GP's stance on this should help with whether to stay or go.
Geoff

 

[col101]

It's well worth getting the eye test done at an opticians. Worth asking the detail of what tests they do, not all opticians are equal! I use a local independent optician who has the latest retinal imaging equipment. It was the optometrist there that referred me to a retinal consultant even though the NHS scan came back clear. The consultant agreed there is damage and I am now under his care. So please don't dismiss the opticians check as secondary, if it's done well it's at least as good as the NHS scan. Good luck getting it sorted

 

[dbr10]

I get a letter every year to make an appointment for a retinopathy scan. It can be done at the diabetes centre at the local hospital, but also just as well at a range of local opticians who have the equipment. Basically the inside of the eye is photographed, and the images are uploaded to the NHS.

 

[Polgara]

In our area, you get a letter every year telling you to book a screening apt. In it there is a long list of places you can go to. It includes hospitals, health centres and a number of different opticians, including chains like Boots and Specsavers. We always got to a NHS clinic - but that's only because it's most convenient

 

[Japes]

I get sent a list of opticians with the annual letter telling me to book a screening test. They then send the scans to the local hospital who inform me of the results. I've found the independent opticians I chose to use to be excellent (and I have a long history of dealings with eye hospitals and opticians) and have shifted my general eye tests to them from the Specsavers I had been using (Until recently I had gone through a long spell of tight and irregular finances.)

Specsavers don't appear on my pretty extensive list for the screening,

 

[Resurgam]

I went to Specsavers after my husband pressured me to go to them to save money - The glasses they made for me were not done to my prescription, and I was a danger on the roads as I was clipping the curbs - there was no 'prism' in the glasses they made for me and my brain was ignoring what my left eye saw. They did a retina scan and said nothing was wrong.
I went back to my old opticians and got the right glasses but since being diagnosed I have noticed my eyes had changed, and so have had an eye test, I need three different pairs of glasses for driving, computer use and reading. I have also had a retina scan and - guess what?
I would not recommend Specsavers for even the most basic optical work.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

I don't trust Specsavers to do correct sight tests never mind a retinal image screening.

Same here in Australia, the idiot outside the Specsavers shop who was spruiking two for one specials said they could do a Yag Laser Capsulotomy at the shopping centre.

At the eye specialists where I got it done I was getting prepped for nearly an hour with eye drops, getting photos taken of the eye etc.

Then about 10 minutes worth for nuking with the laser cannon, that got rid of the problem in a shower of red sparks.

 

[ally1]

I would never use specks avers with a barge pole

 

[Dark Horse]

Please check with your GP if they have notified the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme that you are diabetic. GPs should notify the screening programme as soon as someone is diagnosed and not wait until the yearly visit to the surgery. Although routine screening is yearly, it is particularly important for people with Type 2 diabetes to have their first screening as soon as practicable after diagnosis as they may already have had diabetes for some years and retinal damage could already be occurring. It is for this reason that the UK National Screening Committee has a standard which requires all newly diagnosed diabetics to be screened within 89 days of the screening programme being notified that they are diabetic. Newly diagnosed diabetics may have to travel to another location for their first screening but subsequent screenings should be in the normal rotation at their surgery.

Unfortunately, there have been cases where GPs haven't notified the screening programme that someone is diabetic until the annual visit to the surgery which is very bad practice. So, please do check that you have already been referred to the diabetic eye screening programme - they cannot give you an appointment until the GP has made that referral.

Please also note that you should not wait until you have symptoms before having a test. The aim of screening is to detect damage BEFORE there are any symptoms as this is when treatment is most effective. Although retinal photos taken by opticians who are not part of the diabetic eye screening programme may not be as accurate as the screening test, it is better than having no test.

Leaflet aimed at patients in Northern Ireland:- http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/DESP What you need to know FINAL_0.pdf
This leaflet aimed at health professionals in Northern Ireland says:-

Patient data are extracted, with agreement, from GP systems on an annual basis. The DESP office should be notified of all new diabetes patients as soon as possible after diagnosis.​

http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/s...nformation for health professionals FINAL.pdf