Health care for diabetes in UK

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by joanne cypher on July 25, 2008 at 7:34am

ok i have read that some peeps have had problem with their care well i cant fault my care the health prof's here in west oxon have been & continue to be spot on i can go to them with anything & not feel like an idiot for not knowing something they are very good with explaining things & even if i still dont get it they explain it till i do get it
all i can say is well done west oxfordshire for getting it right

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bronagh on August 31, 2008 at 9:51am

Don't even get me started on some of the doctors I've encountered!!! My GP is fantastic...but for 13 years, my consultants were definitely not. After getting a HBA1c reading of 8.6 when I was about 8 or 9 years old, I was told by a doctor that because I was "fooling around like a child" I was going to go blind, my kidneys were going to fail, I was going to have severe nerve damage and I'd probably die young. He didn't seem to realise that I WAS a child, and despite the reading not being good enough, I had done everything in my power to keep it right. At that stage, I was taking two mixtard injections a day...definitely not the right route to a great HBA1c!! I remember crying the entire way home, telling my mum I was trying my best and I was still going to die and it was going to be all my fault. After that I began to give up on myself. I checked my sugars, took my insulin and did very little else to try to keep things right. It was only when I got a bit older that I realised I had to do this for me, and not for the idiots I'd come across during my hospital appointments. I still feel so angry at times though, when I think about that fool of a doctor and the way he spoke to me like I was a criminal!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Charlie Anne Rust on July 22, 2009 at 2:55pm

Hi all

This is an old post but I am new to Tu!! I was horrified by some of your stories regarding GPs threatening to block prescriptions. I am seen by my hospital diabetes centre but my GP surgery made several attempts to force me to attend their clinic. I knew this was due to the requirements to meet set targets and to get bonuses for over performace at the time. I was straigt with my doctor and said it woudl be a waste of the NHS's time and money for me to be seen unnecesarily and requested that they do not bother me again. My consultant sends them copies of all notes and tests.

Bronagh - your childhood experience sounds very similar to mine. My specialist at the hospital called me stupid, lazy, that I never tried, etc etc for years. I would cry. Eventually with the support of my mom at 15 I told him that I felt his care was not beneficial to me and that his assessment of my personality had totally taken away my confidence. I was frightened. I am horrified when I think back to the years wasted and the impact on me as a person. My move to Leeds when I became a student here introduced me to a diabetes centre that believed that I was a person with diabetes, not a diabetic. It was part of my life not the definition of me. I have a very good relationship with them and am grateful for their support. We all need it to avoid "diabetes breakdown".

Good to read your stories and recognise some experiences.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Abby on August 28, 2009 at 8:34am

I have never had a problem with any care I've ever had, all my Doctors and Nurses have been amazing.
I think I am very lucky to have the care I need and would recommend the Hospital I'm at. I know somebody that moved across Yorkshire just to come to the hospital so her HbA1c was low enough for her to concieve safely.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by margaret armstrong on October 6, 2009 at 3:40am

hi perhaps what we all forget is we are statistics and not people with feelings. most doctors i've seen just say lose weight and your condition will improve. as if i hadn't tried its so easy i don't think . even the diabetic nurse says its my fault i'm diabetic because i'm fat. it took me 31/2 years to get to see a dedicated diabetic nurse up till then i had to make do with a regular practice nurse. i see my doctor once every six months for a checkup and in an emergency i phone my daughter that lives about 100 miles away as i have no contact numbers around here. nobody seems to want to know so i go my own way

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last