Accu-check Aviva Expert meter

Hi, i finished my Dafne course around 5 years ago when i was given the accu-check aviva meter which i have been using since. Due to this being a meter with bolus, i have used it as my main meter on every day basis. My GP has recently advised they dont provide test strips for this meter anymore and have therefore changed my prescription. The meter they can provide hasnt got bolus facility. Any ideas how to get around this? If i want to use bolus as part of my diabetes treatment, do i need to start paying for aviva strips myself? Anyone had similar experiences?

Hi,
Sorry for the delayed response, xmas and all that ;-) Your GP should NOT be doing this, it is NOT NHS policy . If you are a member of Diabetes UK I would contact them and or your local Clinical Commissioning Group ( CCG) and ask for an explanation. I don't know where you are in the country so its hard to give specific advice. Only Type 2 diabetics have the meter type they use 'imposed' on them not Type 1s. You should also be under a hospital to for your Diabetes check-ups so I would also contact them and explain what is going on. I have heard about this happening but not in my part of the UK ( South-East Kent) , its not acceptable and you don't have to accept it !!

My GP tried this too, I rang up & explained that my diabetes control was good partly due to this machine. They agreed to leave my prescription for a while. I also asked my hospital nurse to mention in letter after next appointment, which she did. I've heard nothing from GP since. Stick to your guns!

Oh yes, definitely speak to your hospital team if no one else. Even a Diabetes Specialist Nurse will trump the GP decision every time. They only care about saving money usually. Best wishes!

Hi. Reading your initial post it seems that the GP is changing the prescription as the test strips are no longer manufactured and would in that case have to change your meter which if five years old may well be the case. The GP can't prescribe strips that are no longer made. However as others have said if you contact your team at the hospital there are various blood glucose monitors on the market that have the bolus calculator function and it's a matter of getting a new meter from your team and prescription for test strips to match the new blood glucose monitor. I'm not based in UK but assume it works the same as Ireland??

Contact Accu-Chek via www.accu-chek.co.uk/contactus

I am contacting you from Roche Diabetes Care as the product manager for the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert bolus advisor system. The following stream has come to our attention ...
http://www.dafneonline.co.uk/forums/1/topics/2957?page=1

We would like to offer a correction to the post dated 08 Jan.2017 by AMcD, DAFNE Graduate from Galway as this advises the originator of the query that the test strips have been discontinued. That is definitely not the case and the Aviva test strips used with the system are definitely still available on prescription in the UK and Ireland.

Patients being denied test strips of their choice should refer to the latest NICE guidance for Type 1 or 2 and download the advocacy pack from the Diabetes UK website ...
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Helpline/Your-rights/

My hospital diabetes clinic recently recommended and provided an Accu Chek Aviva Expert, offering to write to my GP to explain why this was the best choice for me to support a change of test-strip. In fact, I just called at my surgery and spoke to the dispensary and they simply changed my prescription there and then.

Stew