How To Change The Lives of People With Diabetes

Dr Hugh Freeman, Chair, North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group

One of the things I am really enjoying about the new NHS reforms is working even more closely with the local community on health care decisions.

 

Diabetes is a huge problem nationally and it is of great concern in North Hampshire.  Nationally 5% of the adult population has diabetes –  in North Hampshire that figure is double at 10%.  A worrying statistic.

 

Recently my colleagues have been meeting with Diabetes UK to see how a national charity and we at North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning  can work together to improve the lives of people living with diabetes in North Hampshire.

 

One of the first ways is to support Diabetes UK in its recruitment of a Diabetes Service Champion for North Hampshire.  This is a volunteer role, but full training will be provided and the Service Champion will have help from a regional manager.

 

The closing date for applications is July 2nd and this is a role we at North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group would like to see filled.    The Service Champion will canvas local opinion on services for those with diabetes and will be offering up suggestions for improvements.

 

As North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group examines diabetic care to see if the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right cost is being delivered locally then the Service Champion could play a key role in this debate.

 

This is an opportunity to change lives and futures for people with diabetes in North Hampshire so if you think you or someone you know could fill this volunteer role there is more information in News & Events on our website North Hampshire CCG or contact Jill Steaton at Diabetes UK  for an application form.

 

We have shared goals – like Diabetes UK –  North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group wants to make sure people with diabetes receive high-quality care and that they know what care to expect.

 

Is diabetes something you care passionately about?

 

NHS time and money more precious than ever…

Dr Hugh Freeman, Chair, North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group

With NHS budgets having to go further and everyone wanting more for their money – it’s more important than ever that nothing gets wasted.

And there is an area where patients could really help. Every appointment costs money, every call to an Out of Hours service costs money.  I would say to patients think before you do either of these and ask ‘is this really necessary?’
Patients are incredibly important and the amount of time you get with them is precious and has to be used wisely. So when you get someone sitting in front of you who says

‘I’m better now but I thought it was sensible to come and see you anyway’. No surprise if the GP feels a bit frustrated.

That’s an appointment that could have been used by someone who really needed it and both time and money have been wasted.

What about the patient who called an out of hours GP to say ‘My turkey is still frozen is it ok to cook it?

And another Out of Hours call at Midnight to say ‘I need to see a Doctor my daughter has head lice.’  Each of these calls has to be logged and there is a cost for making them.

Each time an appointment is taken by someone who really doesn’t need one there is another patient who does need the slot and has to wait for another day. Each time a patient makes an unnecessary call to an Out of Hours service there could be another urgent case trying to get through. So it’s not just money that is being wasted.

A patient once made an appointment to say ‘I’ve lost my medication and need another prescription’. Again a waste of time and money as the receptionist could have handled this.

And ”Do you think I should make an appointment to see the nurse for my regular check-up? was another waste of GP time and money. The nurse could have been contacted instead.

One of the GP magazines ran a competition a few years ago trying to find the most ridiculous reason for calling a GP out at night.  The winner….A GP who had been called by a distressed elderly lady demanding immediate help to find her  tortoise missing in the garden.

So in this brave new world of patients having a bigger voice in their own health care and in local health care decisions I would say use it to spread the word about money wasted on inappropriate use of GP time.  North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group wants to end waste like this but to do so needs patients to help and support.

 When every penny counts and every minute is important do you agree we could all use the time and money in better ways?