Oldtimers

Has anybody out there experienced a problem with getting their Medical Notes from their GP's. We have been told by our Surgery that they are the property of the NHS and as such we canot have them! We can purchase a copy of our notes at 50pence per sheet which could prove to be pretty expensive as there are two of us and we are aged 70 and 72 so we will have accumulated quite a few pages!

Is it necessary to have these medical notes to take with you? Our Dentist has been more than helpful and will supply our records when we are ready to go.

I would be interested to hear other peoples experience.

Shirley & David

Les Avalook

When our son went out in '08 he asked for his medical notes and they offered to put them on floppy disc. When I pointed out how would anyone read them they agreed to put a copy on a USB stick that he supplied.

His new wife's practice would not give her her notes and when we asked for our medical notes from the same practice as our son they now will not give a copy 'in case the fall into the wrong hands'.

Les Avalook

Is this a pie question?

Depends on what you are buying and also what the brand is.

It may help if you state what it is you may want to buy.

DaveandLinda

Under the Data Protection Act you have a right to access your medical records - there is also a maximum fee of £10 if stored on computer and £50 if stored in another form for a copy. You might want to refer your surgery to the following:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1309.asp...categoryid=160

Les Avalook

Thanks for that Dave, another case where people seem to make rules as they go along when there is a clear guideline of what to do.

To be fair I guess if you only have a few pages of notes then the Doctor that would charge 50p per page is not to bad.

Julian927

We are old too and have plenty of notes. I wrote to the surgery and requested my notes. They told me the charges, similar to yours and I asked if it was possible to have just certain parts of the notes...e.g. pertaining to particular operations etc.. They did this and printed the general overview sheet which they keep on the computer. I think it cost me about £10 for both of ours in total - which I felt was reasonable in terms of their time.
You can insist on copies, but they are within their rights to charge for them.
Julie

ancpar

Hi there, we asked for our medical history just prior to coming out and there was a very small fee. We got our history in paper form and when we took it to our new surgery, they just said to hold onto it as people can see other doctors in the area that you live, so it is safer for the individual to keep it in their care. Hope this helps.

KatyJaysFolks

Hi All!
Congratulations to all who have recently got a case officer . It's good to see that the long waiting time is getting shorter. I bet the're getting desperate for the cash.
We have just been asked for our 2nd vac and the emphasis seemed to be on how to pay by credit card. We intend to pay by bank cheque from our daughter's commonwealth account. Could anyone who has already paid by this method, please tell us whether you sent it by courier or special next day delivery , and is PVC Wellington Central the correct address or is it best to use Locked Bag?
Has anyone else found that it's not as easy to sort these things as it would have been 10 years ago ? What it is to be getting old !!!

Floss

vivchis69

Hi things are moving quickly, what were your timelines cant find you on the tracker? Thanks

h1tvd

Hi
Inlaws have acknowledgment date Aug 2010. They are expecting CO at the end of 2011. They want to wait until mid 2012 to pay for the 2nd VAC. Can you request a deferral for this payment and wait for longer to get the visa?
Thanks

tinaj

My Mum intends on coming out for a visit ASAP with the intention of applying to stay here permanently ( contr. parent visa). If she applies while here I understand she should be given a bridging visa that will allow her to stay while awaiting the VISA. If this all goes to plan, will she we allowed to return to the UK on the bridging visa? She may have to go back to finalise her house etc
Many thanks

KatyJaysFolks

We were acknowledge 21st Sept 2009 but didn't find the tracker until later by which time Durhamlad, Irish eyes and Katie were already on there . There hadn't been many people joining for some time so we didn't want to 'push them down' We just used Les as a guide.

our dates are :- 14th january case office
16th medicals
8th February aos payment receipt confirmed
16th 2nd vac requested

We went to Birmingham for our medicals and found all the staff there very friendly and professional although the premises were not up to expectations.
We didn't have to touch our toes topless.

Floss

DaveandLinda

I do know that some people have requested a deferment to pay the 2nd VAC, but I think they were only maybe given an extra month or so to pay. I haven't heard of anyone being able to defer that long, but maybe someone else can advise. You could email the PVC and put your question to them. Once they have the visa your parents don't need to move to Australia straight away. Another option, if they don't want to pay all the 2nd Vac at once, is to switch to the Temporary 173. You only need to pay just over half the 2nd VAC and no AOS. This allows you to stay in Oz for 2 years, during which time you need to apply for the 143 (usually takes 4-6 months), pay the rest of the VAC and the AOS.

DaveandLinda

How old is your mum? To get the Bridging Visa she will need to apply for the Aged CPV and be over 65. I think she will still be able to return to the UK, but will need to apply for a different bridging visa, and I think there is a limit to the amount of time she can spend out of OZ. It might be better to speak to an agent about this. They normally only charge a small fee for advice, and sometimes even give 15 minutes telephone time for free. Just bear in mind that it is actually illegal to travel to Oz on a visitor's visa and if immigration think this is her intention, they may not allow her entry.

Also her visitor's visa may have a 'No Further Stay' condition put on it which will prevent her from applying for the Aged CPV. Also bear in mind that she will not be eligible for full Medicare rights while on the bridging visa.

DaveandLinda

Here you are:

By mail:
PVC
Locked Bag 7
NORTHBRIDGE WA 6865
By courier:
PVC
Wellington Central
Level 3
836 Wellington Street
WEST PERTH WA 6005
AUSTRALIA