Intros Greetings from the NE of Scotland

[stu]

@stu cheers for the response. Unfortunately the app only lists medical history for England & Wales, we don't get that on the NHS app in Scotland. Basically I am 100% reliant on the efficiency etc of my local GP surgery.

I do feel for you though; my GP here is paralysed due to being overloaded with over 20,000 patients for half a dozen doctors and the same again of “nurse practitioners”. There’s another surgery nearby that has a fantastic reputation which some of my neighbours are registered with but we are outside their catchment area by just a few yards.

On top of that they are building 10,000 new houses (yes 10 thousand) over the next 10 years just down the road from me and obviously they are all in the catchment area for my GP surgery, and I’ll let you guess how many new GP surgeries , schools, hospitals, shops, roads, etc., they are building to accommodate the residents of all those new houses… I mean 10,000 houses is a small town in itself and they are building ZERO infrastructure to support it.

 

[mendit]

I do feel for you though; my GP here is paralysed due to being overloaded with over 20,000 patients for half a dozen doctors and the same again of “nurse practitioners”. There’s another surgery nearby that has a fantastic reputation which some of my neighbours are registered with but we are outside their catchment area by just a few yards.

On top of that they are building 10,000 new houses (yes 10 thousand) over the next 10 years just down the road from me and obviously they are all in the catchment area for my GP surgery, and I’ll let you guess how many new GP surgeries , schools, hospitals, shops, roads, etc., they are building to accommodate the residents of all those new houses… I mean 10,000 houses is a small town in itself and they are building ZERO infrastructure to support it.

I hear you. I get it, I just have to roll with it at the moment.

 

[Dooby Doo]

Morning all, thanks for letting me join, I’m just hoping to learn from real experiences. I'm up in the north of Scotland. I’ve requested my full medical records and a “Statement of Care” from my GP, not sure how long that’ll take, and I’m still researchin which clinic to go with.

I’m in my mid-fifties and have lived with severe spinal issues for years , 99 % stenosis and spondylolisthesis at S1, L5, L4 and L3, followed by major surgery (removal and fusion) of those vertebrae and nerve damage. After years on opioids, citalopram, amitriptyline and gabapentin, I finally came off the lot as they’d stopped helping. The pain and lack of sleep were wearing me down, but I recently tried vaping cannabis for the first time and the relief was unbelievable , far better than anything prescribed. It's a bit of a minefield for me, started at reddit, but most posts that were on experience tended to be negative, I get it, but then researching alternatives same negativity, I know negatives always surface in public forums. I found MedBud wiki and seems like a place where I may be able to actually make some informed decisions. I’m now looking properly into the UK medical-cannabis route and trying to get my head around how the clinics and supply side actually work.

That's me, again, thanks.

Welcome @mendit

 

[mendit]

Just a vent. Emailed Surgery again, simply asking for confirmation that they have received my request, nothing, verified is the correct email. Spent every free moment today trying to call them, total 68 minutes on hold over the day, nothing. Rant over.

 

[stu]

Just a vent. Emailed Surgery again, simply asking for confirmation that they have received my request, nothing, verified is the correct email. Spent every free moment today trying to call them, total 68 minutes on hold over the day, nothing. Rant over.

Vent away. It is now 2 weeks since I requested my SCR from my GP and I also have received nothing from them. If it weren’t for Dr Sunny and Medicann I would be venting too.

 

[mendit]

Venting and ranting. Partial success, finally got through on phone. Zero acknowledgement via email, "were you asked to email us?" was literally what I was told. I told them politely I was using their email address under contact us on their web page. "We only monitor that email for patients we are expecting information from". To tired to battle. Anyhow, I now am in receipt of a 6 page request form which I have to in detail describe which medical records I want, from what periods of time and for what treatments/conditions etc. Lot of work. Could not have been made to feel more burdensome if they had tried. The practice does not allow you to make "future" appointments, you have to call at 0800 to see which appointments have been "released" and hope for the best. I am fortunate, I am in a senior management position at work, so I have the ability to manage my own time, but I still have obligations to clients and colleagues so being on hold for long stretches of time is not an option. I feel so bad for anyone that has to "clock in" or has management that don't give a toss, life has to be unbearably hard for them . Interestingly enough, whilst typing this post I got an SMS from them with a totally different phone number to set up appointments for patients with chronic disease. Vent and rant over.

 

[Dooby Doo]

Venting and ranting. Partial success, finally got through on phone. Zero acknowledgement via email, "were you asked to email us?" was literally what I was told. I told them politely I was using their email address under contact us on their web page. "We only monitor that email for patients we are expecting information from". To tired to battle. Anyhow, I now am in receipt of a 6 page request form which I have to in detail describe which medical records I want, from what periods of time and for what treatments/conditions etc. Lot of work. Could not have been made to feel more burdensome if they had tried. The practice does not allow you to make "future" appointments, you have to call at 0800 to see which appointments have been "released" and hope for the best. I am fortunate, I am in a senior management position at work, so I have the ability to manage my own time, but I still have obligations to clients and colleagues so being on hold for long stretches of time is not an option. I feel so bad for anyone that has to "clock in" or has management that don't give a toss, life has to be unbearably hard for them . Interestingly enough, whilst typing this post I got an SMS from them with a totally different phone number to set up appointments for patients with chronic disease. Vent and rant over.

Your always best downloading the NHS app as all your health records are there in most cases. Saves all the palaver and its handy for test results ect.

 

[mendit]

Your always best downloading the NHS app as all your health records are there in most cases. Saves all the palaver and its handy for test results ect.

@Dooby Doo Not available in Scotland unfortunately

 

[Dooby Doo]

@Dooby Doo Not available in Scotland unfortunately

I remember now mate. Wales can be awkward too getting your Health records

 

[williemed]

Hi @mendit welcome to the forum. As you have found cannabis can be amazing for pain to have legal and safe access can be a life changer so I hope they get their act together soon for you with your medical records so you can begin your MC journey. You have come to the right place I feel this is the best place for MC discussion in the uk by far. Lovely people and a brilliant forum full of info what more could you wish for