[LauRa Lu]

I handed in my prescription last week and it says on i that I can order up to 5 pots of strips. So I circle it and asked for 3. Just 3. Got my prescription back today and only got two! I'm so annoyed why say i can have 5, I ask for just 3 and they give me two! It's not enough, I went without any at all last month because i ran out and couldn't get to the docotors to order more! Stupid system. I know we get em' free but the point is if i could but more i would... they cost silly money tho and are never in stock.

I also had a hopsital check up which i had waited a year for, they call to cancel two days before...because of funding

[Stuboy]

you should be able to get as many as you want! I can... i get 10 pots at a time! no questions asked.

[buzzborne]

Originally Posted by LauRa Lu

I also had a hopsital check up which i had waited a year for, they call to cancel two days before...because of funding

I didnt have this problem, but i was told my clinic was on one date - rang up to try an change it - to be told that it was actually the day before... this was in october.. the next appt they said I could have was march 27th... when i see them it will have been 18months or so since ive seen somebody.

with prescriptions I have always got the amount that I have asked for - if they dont have enough in they will always order some for the next day for me.

[Peter Lee]

Care provision must vary tremendously over the country.

I never have a problem seeing who I want and when I want (Dr or diabetes nurse) and I always get the number of strips I need, which averages out at three pots per prescription.

[josie p]

I've never been told that I can't have any strips yet! But getting a prescription right is another story indeed....

My old doctor as long as I phoned before 10am I could pick up my scripe in the afternoon... Being a one man band, they knew there more dependant patients by first name etc...

But since his retirement surgery has gone the same way has any other doctor surgery is.... You have 4 choices now

1, post your repeat request in

2, Go in to make a request

3, Phone your request via the pharmcey

4, E-mail your request

But just don't ever try to phone a request, phone shall go down if you try!!!

1st two are hopeless, if you try to e-mail you get to the surgery after the 72 hour wait period only find that no-one has checked the e-mails for that week so it hasn't been done!

So only real oprion is to phone the pharmacy... Then the fun begins.... Phone monday and pick-up script on Thursday or Friday (if you lucky) pharmacy and surgery is all part of the same perpose built building!

Ring up for test strips and there is a good chance that I'm going to end up with lancets? I've now have a 5 years supply of Lancets!

Ring up for humalog and I get Levermir which for some stange reason I only get one box of Humalog, but 2 of Levermir?

I've had to postpone a holiday by a day, because it took 2 attemps to get the right precribtion written out, I've ended up having to go to A&E doctor to get insulin after my prescription was wrong 3 times and my last supply of insulin I took on the saturday morning before going to the chemist only to find that the wrong prescription had been done again, and it was bank holiday and I had no insulin left!

But what bugs me more than anything is the amonut of time I've got to run up and down to collect my medication... As I've got to take several different tablets as well as my insulin... But they all finish at different times and are dispensed in different amounts! ahhhHHH

[Peter Lee]

It's amazing how things vary across the UK. Where I am in Devon, I've never had any problems getting exactly what I need and in the right quantities. The surgery has a web site and I order repeat prescriptions on that and two days later I go to the pharmacy and pick up the filled prescription.

At my doctor's practice (which is a large one), I am well looked after both medically and from a service point of view.

[DeusXM]

Never had a problem either - my GP surgery also has a website where you fill in a specific form for your repeat prescriptions and then tell them which surgery you want to pick them up from. Gets done in two days.

The reason they don't take repeats over the phone is because there's too great a risk of the receptionist writing down the wrong things.

[shabbie6247]

hi everyone,
i live in north wales
i was diagnosed last may and treated for type two, once i was on metformin my gp told me i didnt need to test more than once a day (just random times)
then in october they finally decided i'm actually type 1.5 and need insulin.
since then the attitude is very different, i can order what i want pretty much when i want it. i only live up the road from the surgery and the chemist so i usually request two pots at a time with no problems. i test between 4 to 6 times a day dependent on my activity or illness levels
getting emergency appointments are no problem, but waiting for general appoinments or clinic appointments takes a while longer.
i still havent seen the retinologist since i was diagnosed ~ i took myself for a free eye test for glasses while i wait lol

in general i cant complain because the healthcare team listen to what i want and because i'm a sensible gal they allow me to treat as and how i want.

i'm sorry for you guys that dont get the same level of care from your teams.

isnt there a diabetes care charter? or was i dreaming?

[shabbie6247]

i just found this page just for info
Diabetes National Service Framework (NSF)

a quote from this page "Giving you more proactive care: GP practices can earn significant extra funding for improving the health and care of people with long-term conditions - including diabetes. To do this they need to be proactive and ensure people with diabetes maintain the best health possible by getting the right care at the right time. "

doesnt that mean you get as many test strips as you need?

[RATTY]

i test 5 times a day had no problems getin the strips but hadtohave a big shout at doctor to get them

[deb wardle]

Hi i had this problem only this morning. My test strips were missed off my test strips were missed off my repeat perscription, when i mentiond it to the receptionist she said you can't have anymore, you only had some last week. I had to explain to her in earshot of the whole surgery that I have to test 4 times a day for the purpose of my pump and inbetween if i feel ill. I was once asked by the receptionist if there was anything on my prexcrition that I could manage without as I had eight items on my repeat prescription,all of which were for diabetes,

[DeusXM]

Have you spoken to your doctor about this? In my experience the doctors are much more understanding than the receptionists. Recently I changed my brand of strips and was only issued with 50, rather than my usual 200. I spoke to the doctor, told them I test 8-9 times a day, and that yes, I was happy doing that, and they modified my prescription there and then.

[DM-UK]

I get 100 every 28 days with no problem.

What disturbed me was my gp's receptionist who said that in the future only type 1s will be getting the strips.

When I saw the diabetes nurse at the hospital she said that that wasn't true. That all diabetics will continue to get the strips.

Then again when I showed up for my yearly check-up at the diabetes clinic I was told that I didn't have an appointment. Apparently they are only going to see those on insulin at the clinic for now on and us pill pushers will have to depend on our gps. And my gp knows squat about diabetes.

[turtle72]

I get 50 with every repeat prescription. Recently I was going on holiday and needed a few extra (just in case) so I just let my gp know I was going away and I got the extra in a seperate script.

I spoke to my nurse about some of the concerns on here about test strips and she said everyone was different and each diabetic should get what they need from their gp and that you just have to let them know how many times a day you test. Apparently the prescriptions for test strips are decided on a case by case basis, the gp's are not told how many they're allowed to prescribed per patient.

[JJM335]

I don't have any problem with "rationing" as such. My GP is happy to prescribe enough strips to allow me to test 10+ times per day.

However, because I live out in the wilds, the local GP Practice does it's own dispensing. They refuse to issue prescriptions even though I work in the city and could easily drop into a Chemist's at lunchtime.

The problem is that they insist that they are only allowed to prescribe a maximum of 1 month's supply of ANY of my medications - Perhaps they are expecting a cure for diabetes in the next month.

Because none of the items run out at the same time, I am having to call in to collect things on a weekly basis and since they are open only between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm weekdays, I have to take time off work to collect my stuff.

I have tried to point out to them that it would save them time and effort if they would give me 3 months supply at a time, but they insist that this is "against the rules".

Joel