# Surgery rant!



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

OK, after extolling the virtues of my surgery many times here they've finally gone and done the dirty on me. Just been to collect my repeat and they have changed it from 300 strips to 100 without consulting me. Livid! So, instead of having to order every 6-8 weeks, I will have to order every 12-14 days - NOT! I will be writing them a very firm letter! Grrr!!!!  Of course, they haven't altered my needles or anything else, so everything else will last about 8 weeks. Pointless!


----------



## AlisonM (May 9, 2013)

No explanations offered I suppose? That would be too much to hope for.


----------



## AJLang (May 9, 2013)

That is extremely annoying.  Are you going to ask them to change it back?


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

AlisonM said:


> No explanations offered I suppose? That would be too much to hope for.



None whatsoever!



AJLang said:


> That is extremely annoying.  Are you going to ask them to change it back?



I most certainly am!!! What is most annoying is that I had a prescription review the other week and it was not mentioned at all. Not blaming my particular GP for that as she is not the one who changed it, it has been done by whoever signed the prescription. I'm writing to the lead GP.


----------



## Cleo (May 9, 2013)

You have my sympathies!  Its completely pointless as they're adding to their OWN work load as well.  I know all surgeries work differently BUT are you able to ask one of the Doctors to call you to discuss this? or can you take an appointment to speak to a Dr face to face?.  When they've stuffed up my prescription (which is often) I usually call and they get a Dr to call me back to discuss.  Good luck!!


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

Cleo said:


> You have my sympathies!  Its completely pointless as they're adding to their OWN work load as well.  I know all surgeries work differently BUT are you able to ask one of the Doctors to call you to discuss this? or can you take an appointment to speak to a Dr face to face?.  When they've stuffed up my prescription (which is often) I usually call and they get a Dr to call me back to discuss.  Good luck!!



I'm putting it in writing so I have a record, and also because I intend to include information from the Diabetes UK advocacy pack on test strip restrictions:

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Advocacy/test-strips-advocacy-pack-0912.pdf

If the surgery are applying this restriction across the board (which seems most likely) then they clearly need educating!


----------



## Cleo (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> I'm putting it in writing so I have a record, and also because I intend to include information from the Diabetes UK advocacy pack on test strip restrictions:
> 
> http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Advocacy/test-strips-advocacy-pack-0912.pdf
> 
> If the surgery are applying this restriction across the board (which seems most likely) then they clearly need educating!



Sounds like an excellent approach ! good luck and please do keep us posted!


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

This is what I have written:



> I am writing regarding the recent decision to reduce the number of Accu Chek Aviva blood glucose testing strips on my repeat prescription from 300 to 100 per repeat. This has been done without consulting me and therefore without knowledge of whether this is appropriate for my needs.
> 
> I have Type 1 diabetes and test on average 6-8 times per day. I need to test for a variety of reasons, but have a valid reason for every test, using the information in order to stay safe and maintain good blood glucose control. This is reflected in the fact that I have maintained an excellent HbA1c  since diagnosis five years ago. I need to test before administering insulin doses, for cases of suspected hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia, and to monitor the effects of changes to my diet on my levels. I am also a runner and need to test before and sometimes during exercising to ensure my levels are within safe limits. I also need to test more frequently during periods of illness, or when my insulin requirements are changing due to a number of factors thus making insulin dose calculation less reliable. Furthermore, it is a requirement of the DVLA that I test before driving, and during long journeys in order to avoid hypoglycaemia.
> 
> ...



Have I missed anything?


----------



## AlisonM (May 9, 2013)

Nope, I think you've covered anything. 

You might, perhaps, ask whether whoever changed the prescription, consulted your usual GP first? If they had, he would presumably have pointed out the short-sightedness and saved you the price of a stamp.


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

AlisonM said:


> Nope, I think you've covered anything.
> 
> You might, perhaps, ask whether whoever changed the prescription, consulted your usual GP first? If they had, he would presumably have pointed out the short-sightedness and saved you the price of a stamp.



I think it's pretty obvious that it's a blanket ban, I doubt if they went to the trouble of assessing individual cases  Delivering it by hand when I go to collect the box of strips that Boots owe me from this morning's collection! Makes me wonder actually, as I normally get 6 boxes and they only gave me one, does that mean they are really low on those strips, or is it automatic to give me 50% of requirements when they are low on stock? Would I have been given 3 boxes if I'd still been down for 6?


----------



## everydayupsanddowns (May 9, 2013)

Sounds good to me.

8 weeks is a bit of a stretch for 300 strips, if 100 will only last you a maximum of 14 days though...


----------



## Caroline (May 9, 2013)

My tablets are another pain in the what we sit on. One lot I get every 8 weeks and another lot I get every 4. I've asked the nurse to change it I've asked the dctor to change it, I've written to the practice manager and still no change. I work full time, so it is difficult to keep trotting down every few weeks to get a repeat prescription, especially as it is a 15 minute walk because no buses stop near the surgey.


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> Sounds good to me.
> 
> 8 weeks is a bit of a stretch for 300 strips, if 100 will only last you a maximum of 14 days though...



In practice I use my spare meter for some tests, ordering 50 Freestlye strips as and when - fortunately these haven't been removed from my script as well!  So the 300 last me more like 6/7 weeks.


----------



## mcdonagh47 (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> I think it's pretty obvious that it's a blanket ban, I doubt if they went to the trouble of assessing individual cases  Delivering it by hand when I go to collect the box of strips that Boots owe me from this morning's collection! Makes me wonder actually, as I normally get 6 boxes and they only gave me one, does that mean they are really low on those strips, or is it automatic to give me 50% of requirements when they are low on stock? Would I have been given 3 boxes if I'd still been down for 6?



I've noticed that my pharmacy ( an independent) which has been brilliant for 21 years is now giving me owing notes particularly for insulin.
I think it is probably another flavour -of-the-month management strategy idea like the Japanese "Just in Time" which now dominates the economy.
There are spin-offs of Just in Time like DME and Customer-led Inventory. They don't waste time or money carrying inventory/stock until the goods are actually asked for. And they just tell customers - don't wait till the last minute to order. It puts the customer in charge of inventory.


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

mcdonagh47 said:


> I've noticed that my pharmacy ( an independent) which has been brilliant for 21 years is now giving me owing notes particularly for insulin.
> I think it is probably another flavour -of-the-month management strategy idea like the Japanese "Just in Time" which now dominates the economy.
> There are spin-offs of Just in Time like DME and Customer-led Inventory. They don't waste time or money carrying inventory/stock until the goods are actually asked for. And they just tell customers - don't wait till the last minute to order. It puts the customer in charge of inventory.



Sounds a likely scenario  Although this is one of the things that got me when I agreed to get my repeats via the pharmacy - if they know what is required then why didn't they order it in?


----------



## Flutterby (May 9, 2013)

the pharmacy only had half of my strips today although they said they are being delivered later today so could just be one of those things.

Your letter sounds good to me Alan, it is so annoying and infuriating when they do this.  When my GP took over from the old one he automatically did the same, no discussion or anything.  Not a good start really - you'd think they'd have a chat and find out a bit more about individuals first.  Needless to say he soon got to know me!!  Good luck with it.


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

Flutterby said:


> the pharmacy only had half of my strips today although they said they are being delivered later today so could just be one of those things.
> 
> Your letter sounds good to me Alan, it is so annoying and infuriating when they do this.  When my GP took over from the old one he automatically did the same, no discussion or anything.  Not a good start really - you'd think they'd have a chat and find out a bit more about individuals first.  Needless to say he soon got to know me!!  Good luck with it.



I imagine it's a lot easier to put out a blanket restriction and then deal with the complaints, but it flies in the face of 'no decision about me without me'


----------



## MargB (May 9, 2013)

When all my meds were reduced from 56 days to 28 days nobody said anything so I went along to the chemist to pick up and laughed when they tried to hand over this small bag.  Told them it must be wrong as my meds usually filled a big bag.  But no, only one box of each thing and no owing notes.  Chemist explained it was a new ruling that surgeries only prescribed for one month at a time.

Had a review with my GP a couple of weeks ago and made a crack that I panicked a bit the first time the drugs were reduced to one month as I thought no-one expected me to need two months!  Half joking but her face was a picture.

The explanation is that it is being done to prevent wastage.  I would say that those of us on regular meds are the least likely to waste medication, it is those who only take for a particular bug or virus and stop taking them as soon as they feel better.  I/we are on meds for life - we take them!


----------



## Hazel (May 9, 2013)

[
The explanation is that it is being done to prevent wastage.  I would say that those of us on regular meds are the least likely to waste medication, it is those who only take for a particular bug or virus and stop taking them as soon as they feel better.  I/we are on meds for life - we take them![/QUOTE]


I so agree with your comment Margaret.    The only wastage I have is the fast amount of packaging you have to throw out.  I would love to go back to bottles of pills, instead of bubble packs


----------



## MargB (May 9, 2013)

Oh Hazel, so would I.  Some of those blister packs are little blighters and the number of cuts I have had from opening them!


----------



## mcdonagh47 (May 9, 2013)

MargB said:


> When all my meds were reduced from 56 days to 28 days nobody said anything so I went along to the chemist to pick up and laughed when they tried to hand over this small bag.  Told them it must be wrong as my meds usually filled a big bag.  But no, only one box of each thing and no owing notes.  Chemist explained it was a new ruling that surgeries only prescribed for one month at a time.
> 
> explanation is that it is being done to prevent wastage.  I would say that those of us on regular meds are the least likely to waste medication,



and also to stop people selling things like strips on ebay.


----------



## AlisonM (May 9, 2013)

I struggle with blister packs as well. I'm always losing the blasted pills as they shoot off across the floor when the blister pops.


----------



## Pattidevans (May 9, 2013)

Can't believe it.  Read this thread and then went down to the kitchen to cook dinner.  Sitting on the island unit was a bag with my prescription in it that hubby had collected for me this afternoon.  Looked inside and only 150 strips instead of the 200 I expected.  Looked all over for the "item owing" ticket, nothing.  Then read on the chemist label on the boxes "1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3" so I reckon I have the same battle on my hands.  Particularly since I should be on the pump within 6 - 8 weeks and needing more strips not less until I get it sorted.  Mind if I crib some stuff from your letter Northie?


----------



## Lauras87 (May 9, 2013)

Sorry to hear about this Alan.

Seems stupid & dangerous for you & what happens when they moan about you requesting every 2 weeks?

but I'm in the diabetes med boat refusal at the min.

My gp has refused to give me glucagon as they said I don't need it, thankfully the surgery was closed or I would of done my nut in


----------



## newbs (May 9, 2013)

Your letter looks perfect to me, hope it does the trick!  It is ridiculous how prescriptions are changed without notifying the patient.  I've had my strips reduced by one box for now so get 150 per script rather than 200.  I can get by on this but hope it does not get reduced further.


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

newbs said:


> Your letter looks perfect to me, hope it does the trick!  It is ridiculous how prescriptions are changed without notifying the patient.  I've had my strips reduced by one box for now so get 150 per script rather than 200.  I can get by on this but hope it does not get reduced further.



Was no explanation given? What is the point of reducing someone's strips per prescription given you HAVE to test and a cure is (as always!) at least 10 years away? Grrrrr!!!!!


----------



## Lauras87 (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Was no explanation given? What is the point of reducing someone's strips per prescription given you HAVE to test and a cure is (as always!) at least 10 years away? Grrrrr!!!!!



Alan, I've been told by some diabetics I know that the PCT's are telling gp's to cut test strips due to costs but that is only meant to affect T2's not T1's


----------



## HOBIE (May 9, 2013)

The country is full of "People" in offices changing things & trying to save money with "----" ideas.  If it was down to me i wold pay them off & save some propper money


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

Lauras87 said:


> Alan, I've been told by some diabetics I know that the PCT's are telling gp's to cut test strips due to costs but that is only meant to affect T2's not T1's



Well, we don't have PCTs any more, now we have CCGs and they need to understand the advantages (or even necessities) of testing. There are more T2s on insulin and other hypoglycaemic medications, like gliclazide, than T1s - they need to understand *diabetes*, not have this skimming detail mentality  They are supposed to know about these things, so why is it the patients know more than the doctors?


----------



## Lauras87 (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Well, we don't have PCTs any more, now we have CCGs and they need to understand the advantages (or even necessities) of testing. There are more T2s on insulin and other hypoglycaemic medications, like gliclazide, than T1s - they need to understand *diabetes*, not have this skimming detail mentality  They are supposed to know about these things, so why is it the patients know more than the doctors?




I was told in child clinic that diabetics know more in 6 months than doctors & consultants do in their working life time.

My head gp says that no gp at the surgery understands diabetes & all the different types of insulin to want to deal with any insulin dependant diabetics at the surgery & if there are issues with medication they blame the pct & openly tell T2's as well as print it on repeat prescription by test strips that no T2 should test their blood sugars


----------



## mcdonagh47 (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Well, we don't have PCTs any more, now we have CCGs and they need to understand the advantages (or even necessities) of testing. There are more T2s on insulin and other hypoglycaemic medications, like gliclazide, than T1s - they need to understand *diabetes*, not have this skimming detail mentality  They are supposed to know about these things, so why is it the patients know more than the doctors?



I was just thinking of the changeover, are these sudden restrictions of strips the first fruits of the recent health "reforms" ?
There is a conflict of interest now with the Doc led groups - the Gps can pay themselves salaries of a quarter or half a million a year but only if they cut down spending on patients and hold back on references to Consultants and send people off to poor/cheap hospitals miles away. They can't hide behind the PCTs any more but at least PCTs weren't at the patient/doctor interface.
Oh and it will surely be a big struggle to get a pump from now on ?


----------



## Northerner (May 9, 2013)

Lauras87 said:


> I was told in child clinic that diabetics know more in 6 months than doctors & consultants do in their working life time.
> 
> My head gp says that no gp at the surgery understands diabetes & all the different types of insulin to want to deal with any insulin dependant diabetics at the surgery & if there are issues with medication they blame the pct & openly tell T2's as well as print it on repeat prescription by test strips that no T2 should test their blood sugars



And they wonder why so many people end up with complications and needing expensive and life-altering surgery


----------



## Pattidevans (May 9, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Was no explanation given? What is the point of reducing someone's strips per prescription given you HAVE to test and a cure is (as always!) at least 10 years away? Grrrrr!!!!!


Newbs and I are under the same PCT, or now the same commissioning group.  We both appear to have had 50 strips per script knocked off.  WHAT is the point of reducing strips for T1s?  We're only going to ask for em more often, we're not going to cut down on testing, we can't.  So more pharmacy charges as you say Northie, plus more time for the Dr to prescribe et al.  Absolutely ludicrous.


----------



## Pattidevans (May 10, 2013)

Phew... I have to say I panicked unnecessarily.  Rang the chemist this morning and apparently I was prescribed 200 and they do owe me another box.  As a rule if there's a mistake made on my prescriptions it's from the surgery and not the chemist, who have a fantastic team working for them.  Comes to something when we're all on first name terms doesn't it?  Shows how often I'm in there getting scripts!


----------



## Jimbo (May 11, 2013)

MargB said:


> Oh Hazel, so would I.  Some of those blister packs are little blighters and the number of cuts I have had from opening them!



You are so right! It's one of my pet hates too.


----------



## Rivki061 (May 12, 2013)

Lauras87 said:


> I was told in child clinic that diabetics know more in 6 months than doctors & consultants do in their working life time.
> 
> My head gp says that no gp at the surgery understands diabetes & all the different types of insulin to want to deal with any insulin dependant diabetics at the surgery & if there are issues with medication they blame the pct & openly tell T2's as well as print it on repeat prescription by test strips that no T2 should test their blood sugars



I was told at my GP's surgery that test strips are not given to type 2's as some will use them and not make adequate changes to their lifestyle so consequently no type 2's get them.
  I don't enjoy having diabetes but I wasn't over joyed with being thought too stupid to be able to test my own blood sugars and to adapt my diet where necessary!


----------



## Rivki061 (May 12, 2013)

Lauras87 said:


> I was told in child clinic that diabetics know more in 6 months than doctors & consultants do in their working life time.
> 
> My head gp says that no gp at the surgery understands diabetes & all the different types of insulin to want to deal with any insulin dependant diabetics at the surgery & if there are issues with medication they blame the pct & openly tell T2's as well as print it on repeat prescription by test strips that no T2 should test their blood sugars





Northerner said:


> And they wonder why so many people end up with complications and needing expensive and life-altering surgery




Oh but of course you know Northerner that if we have complications they will always be because we didn't take care of ourselves!


----------



## Lauras87 (May 12, 2013)

Rivki061 said:


> I was told at my GP's surgery that test strips are not given to type 2's as some will use them and not make adequate changes to their lifestyle so consequently no type 2's get them.
> I don't enjoy having diabetes but I wasn't over joyed with being thought too stupid to be able to test my own blood sugars and to adapt my diet where necessary!



As horrible as it sounds, I wish more gp's were diabetic to understand things that we go through before refusing things.
Have you managed to get any test strips from your gp or have you had to fund it yourself?


----------



## Rivki061 (May 12, 2013)

Lauras87 said:


> As horrible as it sounds, I wish more gp's were diabetic to understand things that we go through before refusing things.
> Have you managed to get any test strips from your gp or have you had to fund it yourself?



I have asked two GP's for the strips and have so far had no success;another thing I've heard is that they are unnecessary if you are not on insulin but I have been on Gliclazide and I have had a couple of hypos.
    Looks as though I will once again need to fund them myself!


----------



## Northerner (May 12, 2013)

Rivki061 said:


> I have asked two GP's for the strips and have so far had no success;another thing I've heard is that they are unnecessary if you are not on insulin but I have been on Gliclazide and I have had a couple of hypos.
> Looks as though I will once again need to fund them myself!



Grrrr!  Well, you know how I feel about this  It is so lazy of some doctors to fail to notice when they have capable and motivated patients and brush them off with such a terrible lack of understanding. I could perhaps understand if diabetes was a rare condition but it's not, many of their patients will have diabetes and it is negligent of them to offer such poor help and advice. Not only that, but gliclizide should automatically allow for provision of an adequate supply of strips. Just WRONG!!!! Grrrrr!!!


----------



## Copepod (May 12, 2013)

Actually, the pharmacist who works most often in the chemist I usually use, has type 1 diabetes - he let it slip when he commented that his GP prescribes just 1 box of insulin at a time, not the 4 boxes I get. Obviously, I need long acting more often than short acting, and never at the same time (well, perhaps once every 5 years or so), but it makes life so much easier, especially as it's best to get new insulin into cool as soon as possible, so I only collect on my way home, not on my way out anywhere, like I can with other items.


----------



## Rivki061 (May 12, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Grrrr!  Well, you know how I feel about this  It is so lazy of some doctors to fail to notice when they have capable and motivated patients and brush them off with such a terrible lack of understanding. I could perhaps understand if diabetes was a rare condition but it's not, many of their patients will have diabetes and it is negligent of them to offer such poor help and advice. Not only that, but gliclizide should automatically allow for provision of an adequate supply of strips. Just WRONG!!!! Grrrrr!!!




I know just how you feel Alan and I quite agree with you; sadly I don't seem to have a lot of say in the distribution of testing strips!


----------



## mcdonagh47 (May 12, 2013)

Rivki061 said:


> I have asked two GP's for the strips and have so far had no success;another thing I've heard is that they are unnecessary if you are not on insulin but I have been on Gliclazide and I have had a couple of hypos.
> Looks as though I will once again need to fund them myself!



actually NICE Guidelines on Type 2 Diabetes guarantee test strips to about 70% of T2s i.e. The 40% of us on insulin and the further 30% ( ?) on sulfylonureas.

You are on a sulf (gliclazide) so you are absolutely GUARANTEED test strips.
print off the relevant section of the NICE guidelines on sulfs and go kick your GP's door down. If you are still refused them find a no win, no fee lawyer and bring a MALPRACTICE suit against your GP.

You are the victim of medical negligence ...
you should never have been prescribed Glic without test strips !!!!!


----------



## Lauras87 (May 12, 2013)

mcdonagh47 said:


> actually NICE Guidelines on Type 2 Diabetes guarantee test strips to about 70% of T2s i.e. The 40% of us on insulin and the further 30% ( ?) on sulfylonureas.
> 
> You are on a sulf (gliclazide) so you are absolutely GUARANTEED test strips.
> print off the relevant section of the NICE guidelines on sulfs and go kick your GP's door down. If you are still refused them find a no win, no fee lawyer and bring a MALPRACTICE suit against your GP.
> ...



Mcdonagh - my gp said the (old) pct guidelines & nice guidelines were irrelevant so I got my DSN involved.

If anyone was thinking of sueing for clinical neg etc you need to be careful sueing on a no win no fee basis as after 1 April 2013 (thanks to the government) you MUST ask the solicitor how they are running it as in no win no fee NO success fee or are they taking 25% of your damages (if successful) to pay for uplifts.
Sorry just thought I'd put my legal input in


----------



## Northerner (May 12, 2013)

I think the problem is that NICE guidelines are viewed as that - guidelines, and not compulsory  Although a GP needs a darned good explanation for going against them which they can't possibly have in most cases


----------



## mcdonagh47 (May 12, 2013)

Northerner said:


> I think the problem is that NICE guidelines are viewed as that - guidelines, and not compulsory  Although a GP needs a darned good explanation for going against them which they can't possibly have in most cases



This is the ruling ..."Where NICE has approved a treatment, the NHS must fund it."


----------



## Northerner (May 12, 2013)

mcdonagh47 said:


> This is the ruling ..."Where NICE has approved a treatment, the NHS must fund it."



Thanks for clarifying, and it makes sense since NICE guidelines are founded on affordability and efficacy


----------



## Northerner (May 16, 2013)

Hurrah! Just been to collect my prescription for test strips and it has been put back up to 300 again


----------



## delb t (May 16, 2013)

yeyy-result!


----------



## Pattidevans (May 16, 2013)

Phew!  A good result!


----------



## AJLang (May 16, 2013)

I'm really pleased


----------



## Lauras87 (May 16, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Hurrah! Just been to collect my prescription for test strips and it has been put back up to 300 again



Wohoooo, that's good news


----------



## mum2westiesGill (May 16, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Hurrah! Just been to collect my prescription for test strips and it has been put back up to 300 again




Really pleased for you


----------



## JontyW (May 23, 2013)

I've been following this thread with interest, and am only replying now since I had my annual review with the GP earlier in the week, and thought I would ask a few questions about repeat prescription amounts/frequency.

Anyway, before attending the appointment I did a detailed check on every medication on my repeat prescription (18 in total to treat: diabetes, asthma, atrial fibrillation [warfarin], hypertension and Addison's Disease) and calculated how many weeks each one would last based on my current usage rate. The average duration was 7 weeks, but both Humalog and Test Strips were less than 4 weeks due to increased usage during the past year.

My extremely nice and helpful lady doctor said their policy has been historically to prescribe no more than 4 weeks supply, but they were now planning on increasing this to 8 weeks in order to reduce the work load. She said the reason for any limit is to reduce wastage since there are still many patients who don't 'manage' their repeat prescription properly resulting in high wastage levels. She mentioned that many elderly and poorly educated patients continue to order even though they have reduced or stopped taking them. Some even tick every box every time! Clearly the doctors need to check/review such issues but often don't have the time other than at annual reviews.

Anyway she readily agreed to increase my One Touch Ultra test strips to 5 weeks supply, and commented that they are one of the cheaper ones and the doctors get annoyed when T2s buy their own meters that then require prescriptions for really expensive test strips .. so they plan to get that changed in the future. Regarding medication for long-term conditions like diabetes, she agreed that obviously the wastage argument does not apply, and they try to match the frequency with the other medications taken .. in order to minimise the work load .. made sense to me!

Our medical centre is really well organised and I order my repeats online and can either collect the script myself or collect medication directly from a pharmacy of my choice.

*BTW: TODAY ... I have achieved 3 score years plus 10 ... plus 1. Happy 71st Birthday Jonty  

My Dad made it to 95 (and never took a pill other than occasional aspirin) ... so that is still my target!!!*

Jonty


----------



## Redkite (May 23, 2013)

Happy birthday Jonty!


----------



## bev (May 23, 2013)

Happy Birthday JontyBev


----------



## Pumper_Sue (May 23, 2013)

Happy Birthday Jonty


----------



## Northerner (May 23, 2013)

Happy birthday Jonty!  You are taking good care or yourself, so I think you should aim for five score years minimum 

Good to hear that you have a doctor who listens  I can see that it is a huge problem with waste in the system if people are just ordering things but not using them. I guess also that the more senior members of our society who do this are all on free prescriptions whatever they are being treated for, so it comes without a financial penalty for the patient.


----------



## JontyW (May 23, 2013)

Many thanks for all the birthday wishes .. much appreciated 

When I was in the medical centre just now I read a leaflet on the wall called "Repeat Prescriptions", where it stated that Hampshire PCT and Portsmouth City spend (waste) ?10 million per year on wasted medication which has to be thrown away. It then followed with about 5 bullet points on what patients need to do to prevent this happening .... those points already mentioned plus asking patients to review their needs regularly with pharmacy or doctor, check how many you have before ticking etc .. so quite rightly putting the responsibility on them to manage them correctly.

Such wastage reminds me of the enormous number of "no-shows" for outpatients appointments. Once again it is often the disrespectful and ignorant that don't turn up whereas the older age group are very good. This analysis done in 2007/8 shows a waste of ?600m :-(  Just think how that money could be usefully spent ....

http://www.drfosterhealth.co.uk/features/outpatient-appointment-no-shows.aspx


----------



## PhilT (May 23, 2013)

Happy Birthday Jonty .


----------



## Pattidevans (May 23, 2013)

Happy birthday Jonty


----------

