"I really cannot find anything positive to say about this visit"

About: Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) / Diabetic medicine

(as a service user),

Left very dissatisfied.  The consultation was very perfunctory.

There were two medical students present and I never quite knew whether what the consultant was saying was said for their benefit, teaching them about the management of diabetes, or whether it was directed at me.  The consultant kept looking at there computer screen and never really turned towards me, so it was impossible to tell.

The consultant acknowledged that I had excellent control of my type 1 diabetes but then doubted whether I had type 1 at all, as if they couldn't take it.  They continued with giving me advice I didn't really need.

They had a rictus when I couldn't tell them by how much my blood sugar falls per unit of insulin but didn't ask why not (it's a pointless notion in the way I am treating my diabetes as it depends on how much and what type of food is in the stomach when a top up dose of fast acting insulin is needed).

The consultant had another rictus when I said I was on doxazocin but they didn't bother to ask why.  For a first visit at a diabetes centre where I have been newly referred, they took a very poor history and didn't seem interested in some of the events at the time of my diabetes diagnosis three years ago.

The only reason why I asked for the appointment was because I would like to be on a common blood pressure medication that the GP says is not on the local formulary, so needs a hospital prescription.  That seem to cause them annoyance.

As you can see, the whole experience from a month ago still rankles and I really cannot find anything positive to say about this visit. 

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Responses

Response from Michael Craddock, Patient Experience Coordinator, Patient Experience Team, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last month
Michael Craddock
Patient Experience Coordinator, Patient Experience Team,
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 04/02/2025 at 10:53
Published on Care Opinion at 10:53


Dear Xraygp84,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.

Your comments have been forwarded to Charlotte Preston, Admin Line Manager for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Diabetes and Endocrinology at The McCloud Diabetes and Endocrine Centre. Charlotte has asked me to relay the following response:

‘We are ever so sorry that you felt dissatisfied with your outpatient appointment in the Macleod Diabetes Centre. We want every patient to feel listened to, and valued. I would really like to look into this further, please contact me on rduh.mdecadmin@nhs.net.'

Once again, thank you for providing your feedback.

Kind regards,

Michael

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