I SAW your article about NHS celebrations in the Chronicle last week.
I am writing to tell you about the problems I'm having with Hounslow Primary Care Trust (PCT) and its poor service for diabetics.
I was diagnosed as diabetic on May 15 this year. My GP at Brentford Health Centre has been wonderful. I have to see her regularly and she always gives me a full examination, does tests on my blood and urine, monitors my health and has arranged abdominal scans as my liver is involved and may have been damaged.
The scan was done extremely quickly at West Middlesex Hospital and I had the result within days from my GP. There are some liver changes and I'll need more tests.
However, Hounslow PCT is terrible. It runs the diabetic service in the borough. Because of my test results I need to be seen by specialists at a diabetic clinic. Information from my GP and Diabetes UK has told me that I need very tight control to stop me going blind, to prevent my kidneys becoming damaged, to stop my heart from further damage and to prevent me needing amputations in the future, as untreated diabetics develop poor circulation which is extremely painful and can lead to gangrene.
I went to see my GP last Thursday as I've not been 100 per cent and had some health problems. I told her about the terrible tiredness I am currently experiencing. This is a problem of the type of diabetes I have. She asked me how I had got on at the diabetic clinic. I told her that I'd not heard anything at all from them and hadn't been seen. She was surprised and shocked. She showed me copies of two referral forms she'd sent to the clinic since I saw her in May.
I need to be seen as I may have to go on to medication to control my high blood sugar. I need to see a dietician so I can eat the right things, my eyes need to be checked, my feet treated by a chiropodist and my leg circulation and heart needs to be assessed to see what damage has been done.
The GP had to examine me as I have not been sleeping well due to the symptoms and wake up early due to pain in my feet. She promised to phone the clinic that day after she had finished surgery to try to get them to see me. I have lost a lot of weight despite waiting to see the dietician.
I was so worried about everything that I contacted Hounslow PCT's Patient Advice and Liaison Service, which is supposed to help patients who are having problems. I have emailed them a number of times but not heard anything. I also contacted NHS London (the Strategic Health Authority) for help. They replied but had not read what I'd said and told me to contact Wandsworth PCT.
The only help I got was from the London Assembly. I managed to email the chairwoman's office via the website and she referred my case to the medical advisor of the Mayor of London and is writing to the trust. She suggested I contacted my MP and I've done this but not heard anything as yet.
I have also been in touch with Diabetes UK, both nationally and the Hounslow Group, the Patients' Association and other politicians. I probably will need to go privately if things don't move with Hounslow PCT. I've had to go to a private chiropodist. Money is tight at the moment as I'm between jobs. Hopefully I'll see some action next week to get me an appointment.
GLYN JONES Rothbury Gardens, Isleworth.
