UK: REGISTER AS A VULNERABLE PERSON TO GET CORONAVIRUS SUPPORT

Yep, same here! I have emailed my GP about this too. Will let you know if I get a response.

 

I'll await your response, my GP doesn't email and i can't talk on phone right now.

 

Just to remind people, GP practices should be following the Accessible Information Standard and allowing contact by email if the patient needs to communicate this way:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/accessible-info-standard-overview-2017-18.pdf

 

It'll be great fun trying to explain that to the evil cow bags from hell, aka GP receptionists. But that is very interesting info

 

My GP will accept emails and letters by email attachments but insists on sending her responses by hard copy letter (the reasoning is about the 'lack of security' of emailing). I made that arrangements years ago, before the Standard was introduced by NHS England. I still haven't got around to citing this Standard in a letter, but will do at some point. One thing the current Coronavirus epidemic is highlighting is that GPs can switch to electronic means of communication very easily, when there is a will to do so. Also, my practice's reasoning is false, as they could easily subscribe to a secure emailing service - the hospital that did my autism assessment communicated with me this way. They basically don't want to pay for this service.

I suggest you put any needs in writing, citing their duty to meet your communication needs under this standard.

 

i will, i'll add it to my letters to the supermarkets lol.

'lack of security' was the reason my GP refused email comms when i first asked 10 years ago.

 

If you go to your practice's website, you might find a link to 'Accessible Information Standard' or 'Accessibility'. It'll likely be hidden away where no one who isn't specifically looking for it will see it!

This is what my surgery's website says:

But of course, it still doesn't list it's email address on the website!

 

Well that could not have gone worse. My GP could not help me because I was not category 4.

He also said I did not have a recurrent cold virus for 8 years, which may be true as it was probably flu but he was disbelieving and dismissive which is insult enough.

 

Wow, what, so thats it then?

 

There's isnt even a website address on their website. Its just a standard nhs page. The only thing they remotely have referring to accessibilty, is about disabled access etc.

There is an option to change to managing everything online... Which 'may' involve email comms within that? But if thats the case i can't do it, as i can't order my prescriptions online or my meds will be took off me. So i can't have an 'all online' set up. My prescriptions still need to be handed in and collected manually so my GP can still keep me on it.

Speaking of which, its seems we can't hand in paper prescriptions anymore. The surgery is closed and the only way to speak to a doctor is to go through a phone screening first and the only way to 'hand in' a prescription now, is to do it... over the phone

 

I hit the same problem with some meds when I tried to change to 3 monthly - a couple of them have a maximum on one script - which I am already on per month, and a 3 month script would only give me one months worth of those drugs. It wasn't just painkillers affected, one of the others was, something fairly benign like a blood pressure med was as well.

Phone contact for everything, sure sounds great, if you can use a phone.


I suspect that disability rights may be going back a decade or 5 for the foreseeable.

 

Apparently. It was good of him to phone. He explained he has to stick to the NHS guidelines which is understandable and he said he has not been asked to send any NHS letters or to expand the help list on cat 4 patients which was interesting...

... then he expressed disbelief of my account of my own illness, which was not such a good feeling given he is my doctor, if my account is not given credence then there is no basis for consultation. I am still trying to understand what happened. He said HSV2 could stay in the body so accepted that but that a cold virus could not do what I was saying, implying that the dogma meant my account was not credible.

I suggested that this might be what the text books said but that I had to deal with reality but his parting comment was that he would stick to his text books which was a little chilling. So I said that if he could not help me I would have to consult my private doctor who is Dr Myhill.

And that was that!

I did try to discuss the idea that HSV2 might immitate the human body (molecular mimicry which has been studied only a little in HSV2 ) which incidentally may also apply to H1N1 and (EDIT because I confused myself by trying to study this when too tired to think straight sorry) possibly SARS-CoV-2, we dont know but there are reports of persistent post-infection fatigue syndrome with COVID-19 which suggests persistent infection.

We didnt really have enough time to discuss the finer points of this and in any case he made it plain he was not able to consider this kind of idea, so it all just kind of fell apart. Sad.

 

Aww shucks, and just at a time when we had it so damn great too.

ME disability rights is already a few decades behind, so a further five and we're almost experiencing the delights of the victorian era. Might even get a lovely name change again, neurasthenia does slip off the tongue nicely

 

My guess, from reading the odd supermarket website and gov.uk, is that it's primarily only the people who are deemed extremely vulnerable, not just vulnerable, who are getting the main support. As the "extremely vulnerable" ones include the ones with the respiratory conditions, people undergoing cancer treatment, people with blood cancers regardless of whether they are currently having treatment, and so on, that's understandable, but the bar needs to be lowered

 

Before they changed the rules about a year ago (can't remember exactly when) I wasn't able to order my repeat Tramadol electronically, although I was able to order everything else. So my GP practice agreed I could give them a year's worth of self-addressed envelopes (or addressed to the pharmacy I was using) and they would mail the prescription to me/the pharmacy.

For people who like to fill in the paper form for repeat prescriptions (which is a lot as they are in West Somerset and have a high proportion of elderly patients), with the coronavirus the surgery has moved the box they use for this outside and have asked people to use this, remembering to leave 2 metres between anyone else who may be queuing to do this. They are not allowing anyone into the surgery unless they have gone through their triage system.

 

Maybe they're going to just wait until they've made the vulnerable, extremely vulnerable, then

Thats really thoughtful of them, they sound a lot better than mine. I decided to test my 'ring in' prescription option this morning for a non repeat item i sometimes get to see how bad it will be when the time comes to order my usual one in 2 weeks time...

So far its been engaged for 2 hours