"Excellent care, and a Shielding saga"

Despite doing my research and realising 5 weeks ago I was at high risk from COVID 19 I didn’t actually receive my shielding letter till this week having slipped through the net. Thankfully my GP surgery, Whins Medical Practice, were very helpful, coded me as high risk after I contacted them and have since phoned to check that I am ok and understand the shielding advice. They made sure I was safe and protected when attending for my 6 weekly blood tests and I am grateful that they are still providing this service. Thank you to everyone at Whins Medical Practice for their excellent care. 

I also attended the Day Medicine Unit at FVRH this week for my 6 weekly infusion of immunosuppressant medication. Again, the care was excellent, they have set up the department to keep everyone safe. My regular infusions make such a difference to my quality of life and I appreciate the effort that has gone into keeping Day medicine operational in the current circumstances. Thank you to Holly, Laura, Julie and all the other Day Medicine staff, always appreciate the banter and offer of tea and biscuits. 

In these scary and uncertain times being able to rely on services is vital. It’s a pity that the whole process of identifying who needs to shield has been less than perfect. We hear so much about the importance of shared decision making yet even though I knew I was high risk I had to wait for the “ process “ to identify me. Surely it’s now time to give people access to THEIR notes, I could have put a tag on mine to identify myself  , an active participant rather than a passive recipient of care. I know from speaking to other patients the whole process has caused much upset, the information has been less than clear and different criteria used. Was I not at increased risk until I received a letter confirming it? People needed the official letter as proof for employers and to access services such as priority online grocery delivery slots, the whole process left me feeling I was forgotten with no consideration of what mattered to me.