Just wondering?

[sukee52]

Having my annual review on Monday, when booking it the receptionist told me that it has changed and I had to have a half hour appointment this Monday with the health care assistant and a twenty minute appointment next Monday with the nurse, I asked what would be happening, but she said she doesn’t know as it has only just started. I asked do I need to do anything or bring anything with me and she said not. Didn’t want to waste their time, but as the day draws near I am getting curious. Any ideas out there amongst my fellow coppers?

[sukee52]

Sorry folks should read copders not coppers.

[andyrrc in reply to sukee52]

I sometimes think that as you guys always seem to police the support you and others get on here coppers could be correct everybody looking out for everybody else and providing support

[O2Trees]

Interesting that they are using a healthcare assistant for the larger part of your review. Ive not heard of that before but perhaps its getting more widespread with the strain surgeries are under. I would have thought the 20 minutes with the nurse would perhaps be to do spirometry? And then go through anything the assistant had found through talking to you. Or maybe its the other way round as its not hard to teach someone to do spirometry tests. Who knows? I'd really like to know how you get on and how your review is organised - if you could come back on and tell us, that would be great. Hope it goes well

[sukee52 in reply to O2Trees]

I will. Normally for a spirometer they tell me to leave my medication off which the receptionist said she didn’t know. Curious

[Badbessie in reply to O2Trees]

My last spirometry review was done by a Health Care Assistant. I was left in some amusement by the whole process. The previous week I had had a consultant review plus lung function tests. Which gave vastly different results. On my secondary appointment with the Nurse I raised a number of concerns about how the test was done and the care assistants ability to perform the test as my results had gone from high 60s moderate to high 40s severe. Fortunately I could tell something had not been done correctly and was able to correct the mistake. The worrying concern is how many others have been told they were severe?

[hypercat54]

Hi it sounds to me like they are short of copd nurses. They did this to me one year. I had 15 minutes with the nurse and 15 minutes with an in house pharmacist to explain about the changeover of meds and why. x

[O2Trees in reply to hypercat54]

I think they probably are short of COPD nurses Bev since they're short of pretty much everything else

[hypercat54 in reply to O2Trees]

Cynic x

[O2Trees in reply to hypercat54]

No it's reality for the NHS - chronic underfunding meaning we are now short of 40,000 nurses in England alone. And GPs are leaving in droves and not all of them being replaced, surgeries closing, hospital beds being cut. Very depressing.

[sukee52 in reply to hypercat54]

I thought I was unique. 🤣