Looking for nurse to administer B12 IM injection

bmay529

I have been diagnosed with a slight B12 deficiency and put on quarterly injections into the future. My Doc gave me the script and I now have the solution so I rang my medical practice to book an appointment with the nurse as he suggested. I asked the charge and to my astonishment the nurse charges €45 to do this. I think that is way over the top for what is about 5 mins work!! What would be a reasonable charge ?? Does anyone know of a qualified nurse in sth Co Dublin/Killiney area who would do this for a reasonable fee?

schemingbohemia

Not sure what they might charge for that but the Nurse in Doctor Lavelle's surgery in Dalkey is usually a €25 but not sure if you have to be registered patient there to get that rate.

coylemj

It is waaaaay over the top, my local GP practice charges €20 for taking a blood test and that procedure is comparatively more complex than administering an IM injection with a kit supplied by you.

It's the Deansgrange Medical Centre, above the Grange Pharmacy at Deansgrange Cross, entrance around the corner opp. the entrance to the Grange Inn pub, phone 289 2116. The nurse is there every Tuesday so if you ring on the previous Friday, they should be able to give you a suitable slot. Buses that serve the area are the 46A, 75 and 84.

Tell them you live down the country & work in Dublin during the week so you can't go to your regular GP, bring the pharmacy receipt for the injection kit just in case they ask to see it.

bmay529

Thanks. Will checkout Deansgrange

Has anyone tried to self-administer B12 injection? I think if I can have it done properly, reasonably, then I would prefer that route.

Larbre34

bmay529 wrote: »

Thanks. Will checkout Deansgrange

Has anyone tried to self-administer B12 injection? I think if I can have it done properly, reasonably, then I would prefer that route.

Get advice from your pharmacy, that much will be free. If its a sub-cutaneous injection you should be ok to self-administer with a bit of training, if its an intra-muscular method, get the nurse to do it would be my advice.

coylemj

Another option is if you bought the injection kit from Boots, they may have someone instore to do it for a small fee. They usually offer the flu jab which suggests that (at least in their larger branches) they have someone trained to do IM injections, might be worth checking out.

Edit: on reading the Boots website, the flu jab involves making an appointment which suggests that a nurse visits each store to do a scheduled list so maybe there isn't a permanent staffie able to do it. No harm in asking though, they may tell you to come back the next day and do it for a reasonable charge, probably provided that you bought the kit from the same store because I'd expect that they will want to see the doctor's prescription.

bmay529

wrote:

Rang Deansgrange. The lady there thought I would have to register as a patient and that she would have to check the charge though thought it may be €30. I don't plan changing Doctor.

The injection is IM (intra-muscular)

uch

Clem McCrory on Clonkeen Road has a Nurse a few days a week, she charges €30 a visit, phone and see if they'll do it.

http://www.goldenpages.ie/dr-clement-mccrory-blackrock/

bmay529

Clem McCrory has a nurse that works mornings and will administer B12 for €30. That seems the going rate... good for a few minutes work!!

Zaph

I had a course of B12 injections recently (monthly for 6 months) and although I was expecting to have to pay something, my doctor's nurse didn't charge me at all for it. €30 a pop sounds excessive.

bmay529

That sounds very reasonable. You must be a good customer!

Knit wit

Any nurse could give u the injection. Had b12 injections every week when I was pregnant ... My mother who retired from nursing 30years previously obliged. Could u befriend a nurse in a local nursing home????

Zaph

bmay529 wrote: »

That sounds very reasonable. You must be a good customer!

Not especially, she said it was only a minute's work and that she couldn't charge me for such a small job.

bmay529

Zaph, that's really very honest of them and shows my point... where are all the nurses when you want one!!

coylemj

Zaph wrote: »

Not especially, she said it was only a minute's work and that she couldn't charge me for such a small job.

In fairness, she works for the same practice where you attend your GP so she presumably has access to your medical file and is aware of your general state of health. You had already paid the GP to diagnose your condition and prescribe the B12. The OP will be walking into a situation where the person who administers the injection knows nothing about him or his state of health.

When my local GP practice started employing a nurse to do minor stuff like blood tests, my first encounter with her involved her doing a full medical profile of me - she weighed me, checked my pulse and blood pressure and asked me lots of questions, all before she took a routine blood test.

When you consider what GP practices have to pay in terms of rental, support staff, professional liability insurance and so on, it's not realistic to expect them to provide a service to a stranger off the street for a nominal charge, even to do something as simple as an IM injection.

Larbre34

bmay529 wrote: »

Zaph, that's really very honest of them and shows my point... where are all the nurses when you want one!!

Coppers.

ted1

bmay529 wrote: »

Clem McCrory has a nurse that works mornings and will administer B12 for €30. That seems the going rate... good for a few minutes work!!

Don't forget all these places have to pay rent, insurance, admin, training fees, etc

bmay529

Coylemj, well said. I do understand all of that.. insurance, etc... but still think €45 is OTT for what has to be 5/10 mins of their time!!!

Zaph

coylemj wrote: »

In fairness, she works for the same practice where you attend your GP so she presumably has access to your medical file and is aware of your general state of health. You had already paid the GP to diagnose your condition and prescribe the B12. The OP will be walking into a situation where the person who administers the injection knows nothing about him or his state of health.

Not at all, it was diagnosed elsewhere as part of a general medical screening program organised by my employer. I simply got the prescription they gave me filled and brought the B12 vials to my GP to be administered.

bmay529

Coylemj, I agree with everything you say, esp insurance, etc... but still think €45 for an IM injection that only takes a few minutes with the solution supplied is OTT!!

bmay529

Took the decision and arranged an appointment with a nurse in a different practice than my doctor. Her charge was €30 with the solution supplied by me. She was a little reluctant at first but took a few details and was then very pleasant and efficient and gave me the injection.

My B12 level was 102. While my doc prescribed a quarterly injection and that I go back to him in 2 years for a checkup, the nurse said at my level (102 - normal is 200-660) she would suggest I have 4 injections to start with, 1 every 2 weeks to build up my b12 and then she would do a blood test to check my level. Then if all well I would go on quarterly injections to keep it topped up. I have to say that sounds very logical and reasonable to me... and I will probably go with her advice.

Magenta

I'm on B12 once a month for probably the rest of my life and I pay 20 euro a go at the Drumcondra Clinic. That includes the injection itself not just the doctor's fee.