NHS Medication Changes: Are you affected?

Very sensible your DAFNE team as the Freestyle Optium has ability to do Ketones, by prescription available, ketone specific test strips.
Regards
Garry

I was given an Optium Xceed meter for blood-testing ketones on my DAFNE course. When I asked my GP to add the test-strips to my prescription request form, she said that the strips were £2 each and were too expensive. She would only give me the urine test strips - which she said were £2 per pot.

I was given the freestyle optium on my DAFNE course in February, and the only issue I had was for the first 4 weeks GP gave me one box of glucose strips at a time so was at surgery every week...it's now changed and get 4 boxes at a time and was originally given 2boxes of ketone strips...which I haven't needed to use but they are on my repeat! Can't believe your GP refusing them Alan!

Alan...Need to explain to her that urine test strips give an indication of what was happening 6 to 8 hours ago....not now. My consultant 35 years ago agreed that at the time...the same physical rules applied as long ago, when he used to issue them then...as then - there were no other home sampling methods available.
Times have changed. It is 2013. Yes they are £2 a pot because nobody uses them. They are useless to put your current situation right.
Current sample strip at £2 a sample...well that's fine seeing as I have used about 4 boxes of 10 strips in the last 4 years...and one of those boxes of 10 ran out of date!

We all need have the attitude to face out our GP over this kind of tosh.
Say that until you sort out my needs....I'm not moving out of your surgery.
We must be prepared to challenge a GP and say that GPs must give back some of the additional fees that they get from the Department of Health, for you as a diabetic, in the prescription needs that you have personally.
Regards
Garry

Alan, the freestyle optium strips are about £15 for 50. Now I'm not a mathematician but even I can work out that's not £2 per strip, I'm surprised you are getting this attitude from you GP I suspect its not CCG policy. I am working with the CCG's in East Kent and its definitely NOT the policy there. There is still a PALS in your area their email is [email protected]. Contact them, tell them what your GP told you and ask if its policy, they should be able to resolve the issue.

Sorry I was talking about Ketone strips before. They are about £32 for 10.
I do not have any problem with my surgery, who now give me 250 strips of normal BG type per prescription.
I sat with the doctor to ensure he matched up my whole prescription to save me time.
As marke mentioned 50 strips were around £32 before, but in this competitive world they have probably reduced the price now.
Regards
Garry

Thanks for all your suggestions - I will definitely follow this up.

I am slightly confused about a couple of things: The meter I was given is an Optium Xceed (manufactured by Abbott) - everybody seems to be referring to 'Freestyle' meters - are they different? The other thing is that I was referring to Ketone test-strips not glucose test-strips, which might be cheaper.

As far as am aware the optium screed is same as freestyle optium. Glucose strips are in blue foil (box of 50) and ketone in purple foil (box of 10). Would defo follow up with GP! I get 200 glucose strips at a time but only 10 ketone strips. Haven't really needed to use them so don't order a lot.

Abbot renamed the meter as a rebranding exercise a while ago. Think they call it the same throughout the world now.
Regards
Garry

I contacted PALS (as Mark suggested) but they said they were 'not able to comment about CCG Policies and Procedures'. So I contacted the DAFNE team in Maidstone Hospital and they faxed a letter they had sent my GP earlier in the year, saying that the ketone blood-testing strips should be made available to me. So hopefully, the problem is solved - thanks for everybody's help.