Why have I received an invite for a clinic disease review?
You will have received an invitation to attend for a review appointment if your name is on one or more of our chronic disease registers. A chronic disease is also known and referred to as a Long Term Condition. This means that you have a condition that will require you to have monitoring and treatment for a long period of time, often for the rest of your life. Conditions such as:
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure (hypertension)
- Lung conditions such as COPD and Asthma
- Epilepsy
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Mental Health problems
- Kidney Problems
- History of having a stroke
The above are all included under the name chronic disease or Long term condition.
Why is the letter so generic and not specific to me?
Up until last year our reception staff used to invite patients from each individual register. A lot of patients have one or more chronic diseases which often meant patients received a large number of letters and had to attend a number of different appointments, one for each condition. We looked at the impact on staff resources as well as the inconvenience to patients having to attend multiple appointments and decided to combine the registers together.
This means that only one invite regardless of how many conditions a patient has is sent meaning the staff are able to use their resources to deal with other aspects of the job and the patient only needs to attend one combined appointment which is much more convenient for them.
How do I know if I need a blood test?
When booking your appointment ask the receptionist. If you have had recent blood tests she will be able to check that these were the correct blood tests.
Why do I need to bring inhalers or devices if I use them?
Some reviews such as those for Lung Conditions means the nurse needs to check that you are taking your inhaled medication correctly.
If you don’t bring your inhalers with you we may have to ask you to make a further appointment as your review will not be able to be carried out.
Why do I need to attend?
Even if you are feeling well it’s extremely important to make sure that your condition is well controlled and that you are taking the correct, most up to date medications to help control your condition.
What if I don’t want to attend?
We strongly recommend that you do attend but ultimately we cannot force this upon you.
We would ask that if you don’t want to attend you let us know as soon as you receive your first invite. We don’t want to be sending you letters if you don’t want them.