The evolution of Diabetes UK
Diabetic Association
Diabetes UK’s forerunner, the Diabetic Association, was set up in 1934 by novelist HG Wells and Dr RD Lawrence – both of whom had diabetes. The radical charity they founded aimed to ensure that everyone in the UK could gain access to insulin, whatever their financial situation.
Challenging convention
In addition, the Diabetic Association challenged accepted ideas of how people should be treated. Along with its founder RD Lawrence, the Association campaigned for a national health service and believed that people with diabetes should take an active role in managing their condition. In effect, this means we were promoting a patient-centred approach a good 50 years before the idea caught on across the NHS.
Voluntary self-support groups
In 1939, the Diabetic Association set up the first diabetes voluntary self-support group. This has now grown to a network of more than 400 local voluntary groups, which provide support and information to people with diabetes across the UK.
British Diabetic Association to Diabetes UK
The Diabetic Association became the British Diabetic Association (BDA) in 1954. The British Diabetic Association was renamed as Diabetes UK in 2000.
Diabetes UK
Our distinctive identity helps raise the profile of the organisation as the leading diabetes charity in the UK.
Putting diabetes first
Our name, quite literally, puts ‘diabetes’ first, and the hummingbird in our logo symbolises balance and control – vital for people with diabetes who have to regulate their blood glucose levels.