Medical exemption certificate

[fuchsia-pink]

Application has been processed quickly - further to tattybogle 's post healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... - my new medical exemption certificate arrived today - so it took less than a fortnight [unlike my passport application which I did on-line nearly two months ago and is still waiting for action ... just as well I can't go anywhere]

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thanks for posting that so people can have some idea how well things are working.

I sometimes point out that if you have not yet received your medical exemption certificate, there are processes for requesting a refund of charges paid:

How can I claim a refund on a prescription charge?

Ask the pharmacist, hospital or doctor for the refund form (FP57) when you pay for your prescription. You cannot get one later.

You must apply for a refund within 3 months of paying the prescription charge.

If you receive Universal Credit and meet all the criteria to be entitled to help with health costs but did not get a refund form (FP57), contact the NHS Business Services Authority. They'll consider applications for refunds on a case-by-case basis.

nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/help-w...

[BrynGlas in reply to helvella]

Or move to Wales where all prescriptions are free!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Wales is not always a skinflint, but we do lag a long way behind England in most cases I find.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to BrynGlas]

I assumed anyone not in England wouldn't be waiting for a Medex!

(I believe there are some oddities when someone in Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland takes their prescription to a pharmacy in England - and/or vice versa. For example, if you need a prescription when on holiday.)

[Valarian in reply to helvella]

Not sure about holidays...if you live in England but are registered with a Welsh GP practice, you can get your prescriptions free provided you get them filled at a Welsh pharmacy. If you live in Wales but are registered with an English pharmacy, you need to apply for a card which allows your English prescription to be dispensed for free in Wales. If you use an English pharmacy, you can claim the costs back, although I think the process is quite a faff, so maybe not something you’d do for a single prescription.

[BrynGlas in reply to Valarian]

I didn't have to apply for any card, that is all I can say.

No one mentioned that to me and I was there from February 2019, returning home when I could (when my mother was ok to leave) until November when I decided to stay in Stoke over Winter. I was there from November 9th 2019 to March 3rd 2029 solid when I returned home and haven't moved since because of Covid.

So I know nothing of any NHS card but it does sound a good idea, at least the little Hitlers in the surgery might have been forced to toe a line, because I had lots of trouble in Stoke, none at all in getting a repeat prescription I have to say. They told me that the Welsh NHS would still be paying the bill, that's all I can tell you.

I just went into the nearest Chemist, explained what I needed and why, approached the nearest GP and asked to be registered as a temporary patient and just took in my repeat requests as I needed them. I do know that Full time Patients of the Stoke surgery did not have to ask for repeat scripts every 2 months, it was all done electronically, but that seemed to be the only difference, at least until I wanted blood tests and to see a GP, then the trouble started.

I have no idea whether that was how it should have been done, but that is how it worked for me for almost a year.

[BrynGlas in reply to helvella]

I had that problem last year. I was in Stoke caring for family for most of the year, I was hoping that my surgery would send me my repeat scripts by post.

I went in there , with a pile of SAE's, emailed the Practice manager first etc, got no negative messages, all arranged, but do you think they could remember to stick my scripts into one of the sae's which I saw them pin to the notice board in the office? No.

Luckily I had already told my chemist what I was doing, so when he saw my script appear in his shop, he went to the surgery, asked for one of my sae's and posted it to me in Stoke.

I had no problems getting my medication free in Stoke because I am epileptic as well as low thyroid, so they knew I didn't have to pay. But don't know where I would have been if I hadn't had those meds on my script, but actually getting my medication was very easy and I was never asked to pay for meds.

Talking to the chemist in Stoke, they thought I should have been able to ask for my repeats electronically & seemed to think I was absolutely clueless about such things because the UK had gone totally electronic ages ago! I did tell her that I thought that Wales was not that clever yet, but once I rang the surgery of course I was proved right and over a year later we still have nothing like a decent electronic system between GP's and patients in North Wales ar least.

I ended up getting the local surgery to prescribe my repeats, that worked fine, but seeing a GP was a different matter. I could see him, he was fine but the surgery staff were most put out with me because I had been in Stoke on and off between February 2019 and March 3rd this year when I came home to stay. They didn't seem to like me being a temporary patient on such a lengthy basis, demanded to know how long I would staying in Stoke.

I asked them if they could tell me when my mother might pop her clogs, or be well enough for me to return home. I asked then, to be signed up as a new patient.... that seemed to be too much like hard work for them as well, they decided that there was no reason for that.

In the end I put in a complaint to NHS England because the staff wouldn't allow me access to my thyroid test results which were taken in February 2020 and I was allowed to see those only after I had returned home on March 3rd this year, the results came

at the end of March/beginning of April. The staff would not even send a copy of them to my surgery when they rang and requested them electronically!!! In the end the surgery here gave up and asked me to go in for another blood test.

The staff in some surgeries seem to be often drunk with their own power. I have never in my 68 years found a surgery or a Practice Manager who were so blatantly awkward for the sake of being awkward. The complaint was shelved because of Covid, but I am assured that it will continue when things calm down.

What do I do if I have to return to Stoke? I will make a point of going to the same Practice, I can be awkward too they will find.

[Valarian in reply to BrynGlas]

Our local practice has an online system, but I’m not sure what the point of it is. It doesn’t show test results and although apparently you can book some appointments through it, the phlebotomists are never bookable in this way - since this has been my main reason for visiting my GP lately, it’s a complete waste of time so far as I’m concerned.

[BrynGlas in reply to Valarian]

Oh, that's interesting. Where do you live?

When I was in Stoke I was told that I could access any test results online if I was a permanent patient. I just assumed that everywhere in England could do the same, that's why I asked where you live,

[BrynGlas in reply to BrynGlas]

Mine also has a web site, but I have only been able to order a repeat prescription on it once, which was the first time I tried. After that my repeat didn't work again at all. But that is the only thing that I was interested in doing on the site, so never bothered to visit it after that.

I live in North Wales, where are you???

[Valarian in reply to BrynGlas]

I'm in Cardiff. I haven't tried repeat prescriptions, since that seems to work well enough with the local pharmacy.

[BrynGlas in reply to Valarian]

Yes, same for me here.

But I have to physically take my repeat request into the surgery.

Poor Chemists have to walk to the surgery to pick up repeats take them back to the shop and then I have to go and pick up my repeat from the shop.

It is such a long winded, time consuming job - costs me a fair bit in fuel, going down off my 1,000 ft perch on the mountain down to sea level and back up again twice over 2 days minimum is definately not cost effective, but has to be done! Poor chemist goes to the surgery 3 times a day minimum too, I am sure that they could live without it.

Cardiff needs to get NHS Wales act together and take us into the 21st century.

[fuchsia-pink in reply to BrynGlas]

Have you tried the batch-prescription thing I posted about recently to minimise some of this faff? - SeasideSusie confirmed it's available where you live.

Perch on a mountain sounds lovely but I'm not sure I could stand the rain in Wales - I'm at the sunny southern seaside ...

[BrynGlas in reply to fuchsia-pink]

I haven't yet, no. I am waiting at the moment for my GP to ring me for a telephone consultation! He did ring at about 9.15, but I was outside and missed him. Now I have been told that I have to have my phone with me and he may call later! Silly me thought that I might be given some guidance about when he may call!

I think my Chemist might be the one who I should ask about batch scripts first and then possibly the Practice Manager???

[fuchsia-pink in reply to BrynGlas]

I'd talk to the chemist - he'll refer you to the practice manager if that's not right x

[BrynGlas in reply to fuchsia-pink]

Yes, I think that Llyr would be the best one to approach, I get the impression that the GP thinks he is above such things, but I might be wrong. It comes under the umbrella of 'office work' I would think. I used to be good at that at least.