My Local Surgery / GP Notice on door for LL'ers....

i think a lot of GPs could do with bucking up their dieas when it comes to weight loss. not all of them, but i have never had a positive experience when looking for weightloss help/advice from a doctor. when i got to goal on cambridge i went to my GP and said i think i need counselling as i look in the mirror and see a massive person. a the time i was a size 10. he looked me up and down and said "you don't look particularly overweight" which totally crushed me. i was like "oh my god, even the doctor thinks i'm fat." i'm not quite that bad now but i do think i need some help regarding self-image and i'm not expecting to get much out of my current GP and may just go stright for private. the thing is, the govt wants to tackle obesity but there's no money to do that.
 
You expect your GP to do a complete medical (for which the BMA recommend they charge £140) and then be CLINICALLY RESPONSIBLE for your health - which, believe it or not, by agreeing to do the checks they become FOR NOTHING


The medical form states that the doctor will not be clinically responsible.
 
I do agree that LL is a commercial venture, and really they should pay for a nurse to take blood pressure etc. However it is important to tell your own GP when you go onto any sort of weight loss programme, particularly a vlcd, so the medical is only really a reason to go see your own gp. The questions refer to prior medical history, which your gp can access really quickly.
I had to go to a private hospital for mine ,as my practice refused. I was there 5 mins, she checked my bp and listened to my heart then I filled in my medical history (because she didn't have access to it). I was charged £60.
I could have lied about my medical history and LL would have been none the wiser.
in order for the medical to truly ascertain whether I was fit enough to do the programme it should have been done by my own gp.
Now, as I was scared I could run into problems I saw my gp anyway (had to give another reason to get past the receptionist-not untrue, but could have waited.) He was 100% behind me and did all the checks, but would not fill in the form because the practice had agreed not to support LL. He believed it was part of his job to monitor my health at this time, as at any other, but he felt LL were taking the pee by requiring it, then not funding it themselves. perhaps rather than providing pedometers and pens they could provide a nurse once a month.
 
The information that the Lighter Life form asks for is already basic patient history that your GP should have on their computers/files. The blood pressure check can be done with minimum fuss-that's why it can be done at most chemists. They are not asked to do a "complete" medical check just provide medical information that as a patient you have a right to request for FREE anyway. They are not required to do any blood samples,urine samples, or any other samples. If they did do that it would be at their discretion and then if they are charged that would be on their heads.

I do think it's agreeable for them to charge a small fee as it is on NHS time and a private appointment. I paid one and had no problem. I do, however, have a huge problem with charging someone such a large sum of money that is just a GP's way of saying this is what they would charge you for a simple visit where you didn't even get a prescription or advice if you had to pay for your GP visits. It's blatant disregard for their patient's wellbeing because they are now forcing the patient to go to another GP that does not have their complete history and losing the small fee they could have gained if they hadn't let greed cloud their visions.

By the way, I should mention that I have only recently left the NHS after working for several years in Finance. I could spend all night talking about the way funds are spent and where they go in not only one,but two hospitals and the GP's they dealt with.
 
"I have only recently left the NHS after working for several years in Finance. I could spend all night talking about the way funds are spent and where they go in not only one,but two hospitals and the GP's they dealt with"

Oh boy, Scooper, that's a whole new thread!

It's a great discussion, because it gives me access to others' opinions and points of view. I can only speak from my own personal experience so I like to get other members perspective.
 
I most certainly did NOT have a full medical, my GP weighed me, took my BP and chatted for a while. He told me that if I were his wife,and considering a gastric band (as I had been) that he would starve me rather than let me go ahead. I have no health issues at all, in fact he remarked that he never sees me, last time was over 4 years ago. He is a very pleasant man, and I was ok with paying the £20 asked for that supposed check up. However, I personally do not take up NHS time or money at present, and I am now making the choice to "Invest" my own hard earned cash in my own future health and wellbeing.

I do understand that GP and theNHS in general are hard pressed but if I had anorexia it wuld a completely different story. I would get the help I needed wouldnt I. But I am (or was) killing myself by over eating and my poor mental state to food, not starving myself and my poor mental state to food.

Nuff said..
 
Ok I'm going to word this carefully! I certainly dont hate youbut feel that your response is possibly missing some crucial information and in answer to the comment give gp's a break the answer in this case is no, I wont!
GP's get paid over £60,000 a year. Compleating medical forms are added bonuses which incidentally they do in work time, rarely out of hours!
In addition one of the reasons they dislike LL etc is that they dont get the additional bonus they get when people loose weight on medication they prescribed medications such as zenical & reductil. None of which are any help as they dont deal with the psychological effects of being obese and finally completing a 6 page medical form that I know about comes with a cost of £74....
I think to OP who posted I would change GP surgery and would certainly inform papers/MP.
Attitudes to obestity in this country need to change or we'll just end up like Amercia where obesity is an epidemic & I for one never want that to happen.
 
I agree, ISOM.

I didn't have to pay for my medical check but it was just a chat with the practise nurse and a BP check. Fortunately my nurse was supportive and interested in LL and did say that looking at my records, there had been issues in the past which were related to my weight so if I was doing this, it would benefit the NHS in the long run.

We're all funding LL ourselves and as has been said, its not the cheap option, but to have to pay way over the top at the doctor's is something I would not be happy about and I would have to seriously consider whether I could afford to carry on.

Looking at it another way: my neighbour is on benefits as she's a carer for her father. If she so much as sneezes, she's off down the doctors. All her prescriptions etc are paid for. I work full time and pay my NI yet hardly ever go to the doctors and hadn't been for a year up until I went for my health check. I buy over the counter painkillers for back ache etc and I'm losing weight to benefit my health longer term. Who's costing the NHS more?

Note: thats not a dig at anyone on benefits what so ever, just a comparison :)
 
Boy this is a really interesting thread!
I too have had cause to get kinda mad with my GP attitude to the charging issue, but to be honest I would have been more than happy to pay a small fee if for that I was treated with some respect and support and given a little bit of her or the practice nurses time. I just feel like a time wasting pest whenever I have to broach the subject at all when I visit my GP see my other thread 'charging for checkups'. The reason I decided to do LL was that my health had really started to deterioate over the last 6 months and nearly all of my problems , Hypertension, High blood Cholesterol & glucose, IBS, painfull feet, (I could go on ) was directly attributed to my obesity. I had visited and recieived more drugs in this short period than I had in the previous 21 years I had been a patient at ths practice. I think we may be missing the point a bit here in that I feel the attitudes displayed by these practices are probaly part of a much bigger picture of a failing NHS due to lack of funding. I know that my once large GP practice which once was something to be pround of with 9 GPs at least 6 nurses physios chiropdy dental etc is now down to only 5 GPs and about 3 nurses with a lot of the lother facilities lost must be struggling becuase the population has not gone down. It now takes about 10 days to get an appointment with my GP, it used to take max 3 days.
I have refused to let this bring me down and realise that if this is the trend for the future than its a good job I am lucky enough to be able to fund a healthier future for myself by addressing my obesity.
X carole
 
Hi All

This really is interesting!

Now, first of all i'm going to get a few brownie points from you all because as a nurse i actually do BP checks for my group members during weigh in FOR FREE!!!!! Now i do this in my own time unlike GP's who are actually being paid to be at work. I would never dream of charging anyone - it takes 1 minute!

Moving on, i have a fab GP who was only too happy to fill in my form and was as pleased as i am when i went back a few weeks ago and he saw i had lost weight.

After years of seeing him with anxiety problems, IBS and other probs i'm sure the GP surgery is saving money as i will never have to ask for xenical again (which may i add is not cheap, or wasn't the last time i looked in the BNF!). Neither will i need prozac or mental health services due to anxiety/confidence/self esteem problems! not to mention BP medication and a whole lot of other probs cos i'm in such bad shape. It's shocking how much money is wasted in the NHS on prescriptions. And finally, my sick pay which of course as a senior nurse doesn't come cheap for the NHS.:blahblah: :blahblah: :blahblah:

Anyway, i think some GP's could do with reminding about holistic healthCARE!!!! and that they are at work and being paid to provide a patient led service. Obviously this does not apply to all as i've got a lovely one and i work with some nice ones too.:D

That's enough of my rant!
 
food for thought indeed (pardon the pun!).. it's interesting to get everyone's opinions.
out of interest has anyone had help from the NHS with eating disorders other than overeating? someone made the point that if she was anorexic it wd be a different story. has anyone found that to be true? (obviously only share if you want to)x
 
Interesting points ....
I think it is fair for GPs to charge like any other professionals but it would be good if there was a standard charge. Perhaps they could charge for initial consultation and then have practice nurse monitor BP etc.
I also agree that LL should/could easily provide a nurse to take BP at weekly meetings - they charge enough !
It's a bit unreasonable to expect the NHS to fund LL - after all that's your food included! We all need nutrition to survive so where would we draw the line?
i agree with Amanda Jayne that there has to be an aspect of our own investment to make VLCD work ... most of us will have spend an absolute fortune on buying rubbish food for years (painful to admit - but true?)
 
Phew, what a hot potato- sorry to mention food!
What I take issue with is the notice on the door, it is a real slap on the face. When someone contacts them they could explain their charging policy without being quite so aggressive.
 
Phew, what a hot potato- sorry to mention food!
What I take issue with is the notice on the door, it is a real slap on the face. When someone contacts them they could explain their charging policy without being quite so aggressive.

very true. it's like saying "don't think you're getting something for nothing. if you don't have the money, don't waste our time"!
 
This really is a 'hot potato', the issues raised are complex and truly contradictory in some cases.

One poster has said that GPs get paid bonuses for giving out drugs like Xenical and Reductil. Another has said that the GPs fill out these forms when they are at work, implying that they are only at their place of work when the NHS are paying them. Another has said that GPs get paid at least £60,000 a year.

I would like to ask if these posts are based on factual evidence? As I have said before, I work for a GP surgery. I am a patient at a different surgery. I have plenty of factual evidence to PROVE that it is different in each place you go. However, for some stupid reason, I would like to keep my job and not get kicked out of the surgery where I am a patient so I cannot be a specific as I would like to be but I will put forward MY EXPERIENCE of some of these points.

Another poster asked for experiences of support for those with eating disorders. The route that is supposed to be followed within my PCT is as follows:-

Patient approaches GP for help.
GP has to refer to Pyschiatrist who assesses clinical need. GP writes a letter of referral to 'Dear Colleague' so that it is read by the first consultant in the given specialty. (As of last week it was taking +10 days for consultants to read the referral letters.)
Should patient fit very narrow criteria laid down by 'god knows who this week' then they will be offered an appointment.
Last time I looked there was a 69 day wait for a first appointment.
The mental health department in East Berkshire is desperately underfunded and understaffed and these waiting times are getting longer and longer. It is really heartbreaking when you see someone who has finally acknowledged they have a problem having to wait for another two or three months just to be evaluated by a professional.
However, should you have medical insurance coverage or enough money to see a professional privately, there are a number of clinics in the area and you could be seen within seven days for your first appointment (sometimes you could even be seen the same day!)

As far as the salaries are concerned - do you realise that from the salaries paid to the GP they then have to pay their staff? At least 25% of practice staff fees are paid by the GP. PCTs only pay 75% of basic staff costs. If you are a dispenser - 100% of your salary is paid for by the Practice. Each practice is set a budget for staff salaries and the PCT only re-imburses 75% of that budget. Should you be lucky enough to work at a practice that pays above the basic, that extra comes out of the GPs pockets! Now you can start to see the reason behind some of these so-called 'rip-off' charges.

As far as bonuses are concerned - I cannot find any evidence of the GPs where I work being paid for giving out drugs. BUT - if we have any child under 5 who has not had the MMR we are penalised (so much for parental choice) Similarly, there are other really contradictory clinical targets that have to be reached. We have to ask every person over the age 14 if they smoke? You are not allowed to buy tobacco until you are 16 but we still have to ask 15yr olds if they smoke - oh, and we have to ask them at least once a year. Believe me, there are people PAID by the NHS to check this out and they get paid a damn sight more than I do!


OK - I am sure I have made a great many people very angry whilst trying to both support my fellow dieters AND my employers. I do hope that I have given everyone another side of the coin and exploded some of the 'edited' truths that have been put out in the media.

I wish everyone all the best on their chosen journey.
 
OK - I am sure I have made a great many people very angry whilst trying to both support my fellow dieters AND my employers. I do hope that I have given everyone another side of the coin and exploded some of the 'edited' truths that have been put out in the media.
.

no, i think it's all very interesting, freedom of speech n all that!:)
 
Keep posting Helen - some excellent points! I personally think £104 is over the top and especially £50 for BP checks.
GP's get paid over £60,000 a year. Compleating medical forms are added bonuses which incidentally they do in work time, rarely out of hours!
Difficult to separate work time/out of hours. My husband works 80+ hours per week as he feels it important to do a proper job (for which the NHS doesn't resource him properly). Not sure what you'd count as "in work time".

In addition one of the reasons they dislike LL etc is that they dont get the additional bonus they get when people loose weight on medication they prescribed medications such as zenical & reductil.

They don't get bonuses for us losing weight, as I have explained on another thread. I don't think they "dislike LL" - they just don't know about it and have seen patients exploited by dozens of different crank diets in the past. Why should they think LL is any different until they see several patients reach a healthy BMI and maintain it? As I've said before, LL do make loads of money out of us but it's a price I'm prepared/need to pay.

We have to ask every person over the age 14 if they smoke? You are not allowed to buy tobacco until you are 16 but we still have to ask 15yr olds if they smoke - oh, and we have to ask them at least once a year. Believe me, there are people PAID by the NHS to check this out and they get paid a damn sight more than I do!

Very eloquently put, Helen. It's unbelievable the amount of money wasted by the Government paying people to monitor targets which often have little to do with sensible medical care. Doctors are highly trained and (usually!) motivated to provide good quality care. All this number crunching and "bean counting" just stops them spending all their time on what they were supposedly trained to do.
 
Why should we pay?

It's an interesting debate but the main point is that it is still a National Health Service. When I chose to follow LL I was following medical advice to lose weight for my own health - ok the doctor didn't suggest LL but in many ways I am reducing their workload doing it this way - 10 years ago I was referred to a dietician and had to vist monthly for 121 advice which quite frankly didn't work. This time I went for a 5 minute appointment - my medical history was on the computer in front of her - so she just checked my BP and signed the form. In fact she then congratulated me on taking such a positive step to treat a condition that could have any number of medical problems in the future and wished me well without charging me a penny!

The LL assessment is not a full medical (I paid for one of those through BUPA six months before I started this diet and was happy to do so) The LL assessment is just to ensure there is no medical reason for NOT doing the diet. Why should we be charge because our medical issue is our weight, does someone with the flu get charged for visiting the doctor? :confused:
 
I f being obese is costing the NHS so much money due to complications from being this way, why then do they make it so hard for people to get the help to get the weight off....?
We should not have to pay for a consent form to be signed, it takes seconds.
I totallly agree with Elsa, it is disgusting. They can give us these so called prescriptions for the gym to help with weight loss, but to get consent to start a diet you have to pay......and way over the odds.

Think we should take them to court to claim back unfair charges like we are doing with the banks.
 
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