...other than Covid, that is.
I was chatting to my mate in Germany this week and he said his missus has a severe bout of shingles and how unpleasant it was for her so I should get jabbed against it.
As you have to be 70 I don't yet qualify.
However in my research I found I (as an over 60) can have pneumonia jab, so I did.
I'm doing the regular poo test whenever I'm sent it but is there any other recommended medical stuff I'm missing out on?
Polite answers only please!!
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Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
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Oh yeah, done all those :-)
Also diabetes & PSA is done annually (as I have to have tests for dysfunctional thyroid anyway).
My doc a few years back said to ask for the PSA regularly - but the doctor after that said the PSA is pretty pointless, but put it in anyway. Still that was about 2 years ago. I've had at least two new doctors since then, but I can't get to see any of them.... :-)
I'm not sure I want the finger again.
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>> Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
>>
A few years ago my GP had a session set up at the surgery.
A single ultra scan with an all clear result means that you are not required to take another test for the rest of your life.
How to get screened for AAA
If you're a man and registered with a GP, you'll get a screening invitation in the post when you're 64 or soon after your 65th birthday. You can then arrange an appointment that suits you.
If you're a man over 65 and have not been screened before, you can ask for a test by contacting your local AAA screening service directly.
www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-screening/LocationSearch/1910
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>>A single ultra scan with an all clear result means that you are not required to take another test for the rest of your life.
Mine must be OK then. I had a screen about 5 years ago. In the four years since then I must have had half a dozen echocardiograms. With those it seems the norm to check the aorta at the same time.
Apparently a normal aorta at the point they look at it is about 20mm. If it's more than 30mm they start monitoring. Easy to see why you don't want that to pop. If you're 65+ and haven't had one, definitely request it.
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>> Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
>>
Had that. All ok.
Apparently if the aorta goes go, make sure you are in A&E when it happens, because otherwise it will be too late.
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>> I was chatting to my mate in Germany this week and he said his missus
>> has a severe bout of shingles and how unpleasant it was for her
>> so I should get jabbed against it.
>>As you have to be 70 I don't yet qualify.
>>
My GP suggested I should have one so I did but it delayed my Covid booster by a week.
>> However in my research I found I (as an over 60) can have pneumonia jab, so I did.
Thanks for the Info. I will follow that up.
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Happy to help Henry :-) (Part of my purpose in this thread was to alert others who may not know).
SWMBOs brother and father both died suddenly as a result of an abdominal aorta aneurysm. Prevalence is much much lower in women so they don't get automatically checked, but given that background she can get it done (but hasn't yet, it's reminded me to chase her to do it!
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If an AAA pops anywhere other than in front of a surgeon your chance of survival is something like 5%.
Hence the screening.
PSA screening in men with no prostate symptoms still hasn't been shown to save lives - I think they are looking at a PSA/MRI combo in some study.
One problem with random PSAs is you will find lots of cancers and potentially subject men to unpleasant biopsies and treatments that have a very high risk of side effects (impotence, incontinence, bowel upset due to surgery/radiation damage, sore boobs/menopausal symptoms from hormone therapy) for a condition that may never have caused them any bother.
Being able to determine which cancers are likely to be nasty amd which will remain indolent will be of great value before we roll out prostate screening effectively.
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Hmm that's interesting, thanks. Maybe I won't bother with the PSA next time
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Dont be silly. If you are offered it you take it.
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That’s interesting....I achieved 66yo a few months ago.
My BP is ok, the poo test result has been ok ( again), aren’t obese, n3ver smoked, don’t eat junk food apart from occasional fish n chips.
It’s always been a bit of a worry as my father died suddenly aged 51 from a coronary occlusion, which I think was a result of eating fatty foods when younger, and smoking, although he’d progressed to a pipe and small cigars in his 40s.
My Achilles heel is a like of real ale...the only alcohol I drink at home is the very occasional single bottle of beer, and I can give up booze at the drop of a hat when on walking holidays.
Maybe I should ask my GP for an MOT but as I’ve no obvious health problems, arthritic hip aside, I’d hate to be seen as wasting NHS resources.
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They won't do MOTs these days. Strict one problem per appointment.
Well, I am talking about 3+ years ago when I last got to see one.
I think they even did away with the well woman stuff too round here.
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>> They won't do MOTs these days. Strict one problem per appointment.
Make sure you present with a problem that requires an MRI scan, thorax to crotch
Ok it wont find brain cancer but those symptoms present themselves quite easily
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>>They won't do MOTs these days. Strict one problem per appointment.>>
Well I've just had my annual MOT and it included a face to face appointment with the doctor....
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>> Well I've just had my annual MOT and it included a face to face appointment
>> with the doctor....
I was called for one last year.
Declined as I thought staff time would be wasted; I know I drink too much and don't need a lecture.
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>> I know I drink too much and don't need a lecture.
You weren't honest were you? You do know they take what you tell them and double it?
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"Well I've just had my annual MOT and it included a face to face appointment with the doctor...."
North South divide thing maybe :-) Never had anything like that down here - I first asked for one when I stopped work some 6 or so years ago but was told the "one illness per visit" rule. I've not seen "my" doctor for years now, and he/she changes about every 8 months anyway. Apparently they have a recruitment problem round here.
I had an appointment to get the pneumonia jab last week. Just a nurse, not the actual doctor. at 4pm. So I turned up at about 3:45. The medical centre is like Stalag 19, with a metal shuttered door across it. We were about 5th in the queue to get in. Once in a while someone from reception came and dealt with the person at the front of the queue, but didn't call back and say is anyone here for anything else. So we ended up being 5 minutes late in.
I also had a private dental appt (as the NHS doc recommended private for the work I need. That was cancelled as the doc had Covid, which is fair enough. SWMBO had a hygienist appointment the following day which was also cancelled (without telling her in advance) as the hygienist had left...
Luckily I have all the time in the world and don't much give a wotsit...
Our area has undergone, and is designated (like others) for massive amounts of additional housing. I do have the feeling that the "infrastructure" is struggling to keep pace...
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Your situation is exactly the same as ours Smokie.
Trying to get a face to face appointment is practically impossible. As we've mentioned before, they insist on using an online system called e-consult which is the biggest pile of web-poo I've ever seen.
If you try to phone them you end up in a callback queue which can take literally hours. The callback system also has a habit of deleting all callbacks after a certain period.
Repeat prescription requests take over a week to reach the pharmacy. The prescription 'team' do not refer any changes to the doc and the docs don't read communications from the hospital.
I've no idea of the reasons, whether it is workload or what, but the service is abysmal. Glub help any poor sod who can't or won't manage their own treatment.
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>> Repeat prescription requests take over a week to reach the pharmacy. The prescription 'team' do
>> not refer any changes to the doc and the docs don't read communications from the
>> hospital.
For some years now I have been able to order my repeat prescriptions direct with my chosen pharmacy. A phone call, or a pop in, sometimes an email, whichever method I use, 90% of the time it works. 9/10.
My GP practice drives me bonkers. The online form is the worst piece of junk that could be devised. I can't remember when I last saw my GP. 1/10.
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Although you ask for a repeat at your pharmacy they then have to contact your GP surgery to confirm that it's ok to go-ahead... unfortunately this is often where the delay comes.
My son is on a repeat and one month he realised that he had run out so wondered why the pharmacy hadn't texted him, they then said that the GP wanted to see him just for a check-up so wouldn't issue the repeat.... of course the pharmacy or GP didn't contact him to let him know, it was only because he queried the late text that he found out.
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See I had the opposite with repeats. I was told I could request that a batch prescription as given to my pharmacy (Tesco as it happens) and they'd let me know when I was due a supply and it was ready to collect. I think they were given a year of prescription.
The first one went well, they called me and I collected. Then within days another message that a prescription was ready, which I collected, and sure enough, within fays another was ready.
When collecting I told them I'd only just got one but they said that's how the system worked. I suppose I could have delayed collecting them till I was ready but I thought that'd bung up their shelves. And because of the longish holidays I (try to) take these days it quite suited me to have a buffer here.
Once I got to about 8 months stash here, with a shelf looking like a pharmacy itself, I called it off and, with some difficulty, reverted to ordering when I needed them through the online thing, which I will admit works very well - place a request and within two days I get a message to collect them.
I have more or less kept the buffer going though. I take 5 pills daily and some are on one month repeat and others are on two, so it does me well to level it out seeing as the surgery won't/can't.
I keep meaning to look at the home delivery ones but Tesco suits me at the moment.
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My last call to the doctor.
08:30 am. Ring Ring (two minutes preamble) - you are no 15 in the queue.
08:38 am. Them. "Hello Blah Blah surgery whats your issue".
Me" I have a UTI need some drugs"
Them "Doctor will phone you this morning"
09:30 Ring Ring "Hello Doctor Squid here what seems to be the problem?"
Me" I have a UTI my urine test strip says wibble wibble, No temp, pain when urinating, I feel fluish, urine smells"
Squid". Ok I'll get a prescription to your chemist, drop a urine sample round at the surgery this after for testing"
12:15 Ring Ring "Its Loots the chemist, your prescription is ready".
That is typical of the kind of Service we get from our Doctor.
My Local NHS trust? Has performed admirably, treatment schedule on time, Surveillance and scans all on time, I have now been referred to a neighbouring trust for a non life threatening rareish specialist issue appointments for which are arriving in fast timescales
Dunno where you lot live, but its pretty good round here.
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You card is probably marked as being a PITA so they are just keen to get rid of you asap :-)
The call back thing didn't work very well round here last time I tried it but that was a while back. I do think it'd be helpful if they could give an indication of what time of day or night the doc might call back. SWMBO used it a bit back and they called after 7pm. Which in the old days would have been better than I once had, when a call back was right in the middle of a meeting I was chairing.
The medical centre has failed it's Ofsted equivalent on a number of occasions - "must do better".
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>> You card is probably marked as being a PITA so they are just keen to
>> get rid of you asap :-)
Clearly its a union you need to be a member of then. It seems to work.
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We've just changed chemist, because SWMBO told them they were crap (that was an understatement). Tried delivery and they lost the first prescription, it's never turned up and we never heard any more about it.
A relly uses the 'cancer card' and gets amirable service, perhaps that applies to Zeddo?
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>> A relly uses the 'cancer card' and gets amirable service, perhaps that applies to Zeddo?
At the NHS trust level, yes its a big factor no doubt. Chemist and Local doctor? not so much.
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The medical centre has failed it's Ofsted equivalent on a number of occasions - "must
>> do better".
>>
Must be the lack of teachers...
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The simplest way of getting repeat prescriptions is by Patients' Access or via the NHS app on your PC. I have my medicines delivered by Chemist4you and it works well. The Surgery will also send scrips to the chemist if I need a one off.
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>> Repeat prescription requests take over a week to reach the pharmacy. The prescription 'team' do not refer any changes to the doc and the docs don't read communications from the hospital.>>
I order repeat prescriptions via the e-Life app connected to my medical records at the surgery - they can be collected or delivered within two days. You can also book appointments.
Seems, like the vast majority of patients at my surgery, that we have one of the best and most efficient in the country!
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I am on statins due to having an AAA that is in the monitoring phase. At the current rate of growth I will be OK for some years. I have none of the classic risk factors (don’t smoke, I’m fit, BMI ok etc) it seems to be inherited in my case. I have no symptoms other than those detected by the scan. So I recommend getting scanned if you are eligible.
The only irritation is the NHS prescription policy. I have now been on the same statins for two years. The 28 day rule as a maximum length of prescription means I have now had to go 24 times and queue up with the coughing hordes during lockdown to pick it up. Same with my wife’s long term blood pressure tablets. Is monthly fulfilment to save drug waste (as the NHS claim) or is it a nice little earner for the pharmacy?
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>>Repeat prescription requests take over a week to reach the pharmacy.
>> The prescription 'team' do not refer any changes to the doc and the docs don't read communications from the hospital.
>>
My online repeat prescriptions are usually at the pharmacy on the day I request them ( online).
I order repeat prescriptions via the e-Life app connected to my medical records at the surgery - they can be collected or delivered within two days. You can also book appointments.
>>Seems, like the vast majority of patients at my surgery,
>> that we have one of the best and most efficient in the country!
Ours too.
The only irritation is the NHS prescription policy.
>>??? The 28 day rule as a maximum length of prescription
I have been getting 2 months supply each time for several years
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>> >>Seems, like the vast majority of patients at my surgery,
>> >> that we have one of the best and most efficient in the country!
>> Ours too.
Nope ours is best.
As a general principal, no of course doctors dont read your hospital letters, they don't have time to routinely sit down and read all the communication and memorise the contents. Unless of course you were referred by the doc for investigation and have a follow up referral with the same doctor to discuss the results/outcomes. He will read the hospital letter as part of that.
I have all the letters from three medical departments and two NHS trusts to hand, its my responsibility to inform the doctor of current outcomes and ongoing treatments that affect whatever my current ailment is I am discussing with the doc,
Patients need to take a little more responsibility for their ongoing health issues, be more proactive, do some research - lord knowns its never been easier - and resolve stuff with the doc as a more holistic team.
Being married to a research nurse helps.
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>> As a general principal, no of course doctors dont read your hospital letters, they don't have time to routinely sit down and read all the communication and memorise the contents.
Unless of course you were referred by the doc for investigation and have a follow up referral with the same doctor to discuss the results/outcomes. He will read the hospital letter as part of that.>>
I've recently had an ECG and echo scan arranged by my doctor. He's followed these up after receiving the results and discussed them with me.
My surgery, as probably many others do, assign a doctor to individual patients - it certainly builds up an understanding between the parties.
I've been with the surgery for 57 years and, over that time, even with the natural changeover of doctors over time, it has always had a reputation for very high standards. The many awards it and the doctors have earned over the years are testimony to that fact.
One particular doctor is featured regularly in the Mail for his long term research and advice on how to avoid or reduce diabetes, plus a top chef's recipe recommendations to help the cause.
I'm sure there are many, many other surgeries that have equally high standards, but it's good to be able to highlight the work that GPs and their staff accomplish.
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>> As a general principal, no of course doctors dont read your hospital letters, they don't have time to routinely sit down and read all the communication and memorise the contents.
I'll find out shortly, I had an echo a few weeks ago and the hospital's GP letter, from a consultant I have never seen, says the scan was "normal" apart from some ectopics, with no actual data given which is unusual. I take this to mean my heart is no longer enlarged and my mitral valve as a result has stopped letting most of the blood back through. This would be good news of course but my heart is far from normal and I half expect the GP to try and cancel my prescription. I shall be be straight on to my usual consultant who has already told me I will relapse in 6 months if I stop the tablets.
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>Nope ours is best.
Glad you don't have the hassles that we do.
>As a general principal, no of course doctors dont read your hospital
>letters, they don't have time to routinely sit down and read all the
>communication and memorise the contents.
When a specialist at the hospital sends a letter to my GP surgery requesting something is added to repeat meds I expect someone there to read and action it. I do not expect to pitch up at the pharmacy the week before Xmas and find that the most important item has been left off because nothing has been done and the prescription team can't be bothered to query it with either myself or the doc.
And I do not expect hear BS like "Oh, he hadn't included details of how much in his letter so we didn't know what to prescribe" when I have a copy of the letter on my screen that says '20mg BD 3/12'.
>Patients need to take a little more responsibility for their ongoing health issues,..and resolve stuff with the doc as a more holistic team.
Been there. I fully expected having to coordinate things with both the hospital and surgery being involved but it simply doesn't work when one party stubbornly refuses to communicate.
Our surgery needs someone to grab it by the scruff of the neck and give it a damn good shake in the management department.
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>> I have been getting 2 months supply each time for several years
My GP prescribes 3 months supply of my diabetes medication and blood pressure tablets at a time. It used to be monthly, but she insisted it would be easier to have 3 months worth at a time (probably easier for her). A right PITA trying to find somewhere to store away 18 boxes of Metformin, 12 boxes of Gliclazide, and 3 boxes of Lisinopril. I end up putting a few here, a few there, and anywhere else I can space.
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I had different drugs (beta blockers and blood thinners) supplied in 28 day and 30 day boxes respectively. The surgery didn't seem to realise this and let me order them both on 28 day cycles until I ended up with a buffer stock of several months blood thinners. I skipped a couple of orders for the thinners - not a word from the surgery!
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Our surgery uses web systems including Patient Access to allow ordering of repeats, booking of appointments and also access to records. They also use a system called Engage Consult which worked well for me in terms of getting Codeine and muscle relaxant last time I 'pinged' my back. It has recently become a victim of its own success and access to it is limited to short windows during the day.
Basic problem though is that, even using Nurse Practitioners to fill in there are insufficient Doctors in the Practice. Unfilled vacancies are a part of the issue.
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>> Our surgery uses web systems including Patient Access...It has recently become a victim of its own success and access
>> to it is limited to short windows during the day.
Funny that. Ours wound back on it when people started using it too and most of the functionality is now disabled. Because you could book appointments without encountering a receptionist I suppose. I noticed that they didn't get rid of the receptionists!
It also now presents a load of chargeable services, a bit like those websites that charge you for doing your VED or renewing your passport.
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We've had patient access for years, it used to be for repeats, medical records and limited appointments (like phlebotomists, pre natal - never anything that I could use).
They reviewed it a bit back and took away the records, but they will re-instate them by request. I'm not sure we are seeing quite as much of that as we used to but it's enough for me. They've also taken away all online bookable appointment types.
I think I may have been one the first here to discuss using the video doctor - originally Push doctor (Feb 2020 www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=27595&v=f) - I think they may have now changed supplier but there is still a video consultation you can do. But that isn't mentioned in the app as far as I can see, so maybe you have to call for a referral (though last time I was given a link I could use without one).
As mentioned above there are a lot of links but all to external services which will cost.
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>> The only irritation is the NHS prescription policy.
>> >>??? The 28 day rule as a maximum length of prescription
>> I have been getting 2 months supply each time for several years
Irritating. I am on mine for life, and the ones I have are as cheap as chips, but I still have to traipse to the dispensary every 4 weeks but what's more ridiculous (I need the exercise) is that we all bear the expense of processing it more or less manually every time.
Incidentally, my cheap medicines are the reason I'm alive and this hand to mouth carry on actually gives me 'tablet anxiety'. I therefore try to build up and maintain a buffer - it's not uncommon for tablets to be temporarily out of stock. The prescription system seems to be an exercise in work creation, given the volume of pills handed out every week there must be a cheaper way of distributing the cheap stuff. They are also expensively and awkwardly packed in plastic, a bottle of a couple of hundred would be much easier to handle than a blister pack. I suppose some fools would tip the bottle down their necks.
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>> I have been getting 2 months supply each time for several years>>
Same in my case.
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Just goes to show how varied services are across the land, I like some of the others here don't receive a good service and because of this it just puts me off engaging with my GP practice.
I receive a two months supply but when I asked for an extension the pharmacy were quite categoric in that it was 'the rules' and 'nowhere would give more', maybe it's linked to me paying for my prescriptions so a potential lose of monies?
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Oldies - "other" jabs - sherlock47
