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Medical care after kidney transplant in UK

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:24 am
by Karolina
Hi everyone! I'm Karolina. I'm from Poland. I was transplanted 9 years ago. I am going to move to the UK because I want to get a job and work here :). I have some questions about medical care after kidney transplatation in your country. I'm going to live in East Riding of Yorkshire in Kingston upon Hull. Do you know something about nephrology/transplant center in this area? I know I have to register in surgery and talk with GP about this, but I want to be prepared :D. I want to know about follow up apointment, check ups, costs of meds, how often I need to see medical specialist and what to do, or where I can get help when I got high fever, becasue I suffer from chronic urinary tract infection and then I need to take antibiotic quickly.
Meds I take: Tracolimus, Mycophenolate mofetil, Amlodipinum, Bisoprololi fumaras, Alfacalcidolum, Prednisonum, Pantoprazolum, Kalii chloridum, Ferrosi chloridum. They are available in UK?

Sorry for mistake, my English isn't so good :oops:

Re: Medical care after kidney transplant in UK

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 12:07 pm
by MandyV
Hi Karolina

Welcome to the board - I am sorry that I don't know much about that area but in the UK there are a limited number of transplant centres and so you may have to travel some distance to go to clinic where they can prescribe your medications. When you come across I suggest that you bring as much of your medication as you are able (at least 3 months) so that you have time to get the referrals and get an appointment at the clinic. I would also suggest that if you can bring an English translation of your medical history and medications that would help.
Each centre works differently but I had my transplant about the same time as yours and I go to clinic every 4 months and the local centre will tell you their process if you are unwell - in my centre there is a way of getting in urgently if you are unwell with something kidney related but otherwise you need to go to your GP.
Each prescription costs £8.40 per item but if you have a lot of medication (like you do) then you can buy a certificate for a whole year for £104 which is definitely worth it.
I don't know all your medication but the main ones (Tacrolimus, MMF and Pred) are the same - however if you are used to the expensive brand names you may need to change to the cheaper generic versions as most hospitals have changed now.

Good Luck

Re: Medical care after kidney transplant in UK

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 11:28 am
by Karolina
Thank you very much for information :) It seems to me that, english post transplant care is very simillar to polish. i have a question about medications: if I need ten box of Tracolimus 1mg per month so each box would cost £8.40? Can doctor prescribe only one medicine on one prescription or more? That certificate sounds great :)

Re: Medical care after kidney transplant in UK

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 7:49 pm
by pns2007
Hi Karolina

Doctors in general practice (GP) no longer prescribe a lot of the transplant meds, they are prescribed by the hospital. This is why you will probably need to get care under one of the transplant centres/ Renal units first.

With regards to cost, you say you take Tracolimus, Mycophenolate mofetil, Amlodipinum, Bisoprololi fumaras, Alfacalcidolum, Prednisonum, Pantoprazolum, Kalii chloridum, Ferrosi chloridum (9 items) therefore the cost would be 9 x £8.40 = £75.60. That is why it would be cheaper to get the certificate as referred to above. Generally a prescription will only be given for 2 months supply (some areas I've heard you only get 1 months supply at a time)

If you plan coming to the England, it's probably best to bring a few months supply as you will need to be registered at GP first and then I presume referred to local renal unit in the hospital. Don't know how long that will take though

Regards