Warfarin monitoring

littlewren

I wondered if anyone could help with a query regarding my Dad please? As he has a heart problem (AF) the doctor recommended taking Warfarin, which he is willing to take, but the problem is he spends 3 weeks at home and then 3 weeks at his partner's home over 50 miles away, so of course outside the catchment area. He would need to be monitored weekly at the anticoagulant clinic at the hospital for a while until they got the levels stable, after which time he would be able to go monthly.


The problem is of course that he would be out of the area for 3 weeks at a time, so unable to be monitored during that time in his local hospital. Does anyone know if there is any way he can be monitored at a hospital at both places or is this not possible? He lives in Bedfordshire and his partner's home is in Peterborough. I don't know who to contact to find out so I thought I would see if anyone on here might know?


Thankyou in advance. :-)

Gingernutty

What's stopping him from visiting the clinic once a week?

littlewren

I don't know whether he would be allowed to visit an anticoagulant clinic in Peterborough (Cambs) when he lives in Luton (Beds).

Gingernutty

Where's his home? Is he registered as living at his partner's house? If not, then it doesn't matter where he travels from.

fred246

You can buy your own monitor or you need to start phoning the hospitals in the two areas.

littlewren

Gingernutty wrote: »

Where's his home? Is he registered as living at his partner's house? If not, then it doesn't matter where he travels from.

He's registered with his partner's GP but he'd have to be monitored at the hospital.

littlewren

fred246 wrote: »

You can buy your own monitor or you need to start phoning the hospitals in the two areas.

I would rather he had it monitored by a professional rather than relying on a bought one. Yes, I suppose that would be the first step, to ring both hospitals, thank you.

FBaby

So his GP is where he lives with his partner and it is when he comes home that he would need access to the local service? Is that correct?

Yes, it is possible for him to be seen locally. It might be a bit confusing though! First he needs to find out what the pathway is for warfarin monitoring when he comes home. That will probably calling the local CCG and asking to speak to a commissioner. It might not be the local hospital. Once he knows and get a contact number, he needs to get his GP to write to the local CCG where he is registered for them to approve funding for the treatment out of area. Once the GP gets the approval, they can refer to the service where his home is confirming that they can invoice the CCG for payment.

MoneyMate

May be worth checking with his Doctors there are alternatives to Warfarin that do not require constantly checking Warfarin levels ( Apixaban )

bryanb

A friend has done this at 2 different clinics Oxfordshire/Dorset, communication between them was awful. He ended up phoning the results through himself.

littlewren

FBaby wrote: »

So his GP is where he lives with his partner and it is when he comes home that he would need access to the local service? Is that correct?

Yes, it is possible for him to be seen locally. It might be a bit confusing though! First he needs to find out what the pathway is for warfarin monitoring when he comes home. That will probably calling the local CCG and asking to speak to a commissioner. It might not be the local hospital. Once he knows and get a contact number, he needs to get his GP to write to the local CCG where he is registered for them to approve funding for the treatment out of area. Once the GP gets the approval, they can refer to the service where his home is confirming that they can invoice the CCG for payment.

Many thanks for your reply, I will pass the info on. My Dad is registered with a GP at home and also registered with the one at Peterborough.