Tesco stores in Northern Ireland gear up for major new charity partnership with Diabetes UK
Iain Foster, National Director at Diabetes UK Northern Ireland joins Jean Cardy, (centre) Community Champion and Nora Armour, Store Manager at Tesco Extra Knocknagoney to launch Tesco's major new partnership
Tesco has announced a major new charity partnership with Diabetes UK to help create a healthier future for people in Northern Ireland and across the UK affected by diabetes or at risk of developing it.
The partnership follows the recent announcement that the number of people living with diabetes in Northern Ireland has reached 75,837- a rise of 33% in the last 5 years compared to just 25% in England, 20% in Wales and 18% in Scotland. It also comes as the total number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK has reached three million for the first time.
The partnership will see Tesco, its customers, staff and suppliers aim to raise £10 million across the UK, the biggest donation ever pledged to the charity.
Part of this funding will be spent on pioneering research into a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes – the type not linked to lifestyle or weight – that offers real hope for thousands of children and adults across the globe for a future without this type of the condition.
The partnership will also fund the biggest ever public awareness campaign on Type 2 diabetes risk factors, aiming to reach the estimated seven million people across the UK at high risk of developing the condition. Money raised by Tesco customers and employees will also pay for a series of Living with Diabetes Days that will give people with Type 2 diabetes the information they need to manage the condition.
Iain Foster, National Director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland, said: “I am delighted that Tesco has chosen Diabetes UK as its National Charity Partner, as this will make a real difference in curbing the rise in the condition by funding the biggest ever public health campaign on risk factors and symptoms of Type 2 diabetes. “Crucially, research into a future without Type 1 diabetes is at an extremely exciting point and so there is a real chance that the millions of pounds of new research the partnership will fund could make the breakthrough that leads to a future without this type of the condition, a lasting legacy for the partnership and for children and adults worldwide.
“With a total of 71 local outlets, Tesco stores in Northern Ireland will play a major role in reaching the £10 million target and creating a much better level of awareness about diabetes. I look forward to working with Tesco customers, suppliers and staff as well our army of volunteers and supporters to make this partnership a major success.”
Rebecca Shelley, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Tesco, said: “Diabetes affects thousands of families and communities in Northern Ireland and as the latest statistics reveal, the number of people with this condition is increasing. “Thanks to this important partnership, we have the opportunity to inspire our colleagues and customers to come together, raise awareness and much needed funds to help the millions of people with diabetes right across the UK.
“From helping our customers take action to reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes through in-store risk assessments, to investing in groundbreaking research, we’ll be using our scale to support everyone affected by, and at risk of diabetes.”
Funds raised by the partnership will help fund the following initiatives throughout the UK:
• Pioneering research into a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes, offering real hope for thousands of children and adults across the globe for a future without this type of the condition.
• The partnership will also fund the biggest ever public awareness campaign on Type 2 diabetes risk factors aiming to reach the estimated seven million people at high risk.
• Through risk assessments available to customers in our pharmacies, we will help to identify some of the 850,000 people who have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.
• The partnership aims to provide information and advice to almost a million people with Type 2 diabetes and will also fund a series of “Living with Diabetes” days around the UK that will help people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes understand how to best manage their condition. To find out if you are at risk of Type 2 diabetes, go to www.diabetes.org.uk/riskscore .
1 in 4 children left seriously ill as vital diabetes symptoms are missed
Clara McDevitt (8) and Josh Todd (5) helping to promote awareness of the 4 Ts: Toilet, Thirsty, Tired, Thinner
Diabetes UK Northern Ireland is warning that much more must be done to create awareness of the seriousness of Type 1 diabetes and the fact that 1 in 4 children and young people are becoming dangerously ill with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) before a diagnosis is made due to vital symptoms not being spotted.
The announcement comes as the charity launches its new Children and Young Person’s Campaign today at Stormont which aims to tackle the biggest problems faced by young people with Type 1 diabetes and their families over the next 5 years. The first phase of the campaign, entitled The 4 Ts of Diabetes, focuses on creating awareness of the four main symptoms of Type 1 diabetes- Toilet, Thirsty, Tired, Thinner- among parents, carers, teachers and healthcare professionals.
There are around 1,038 children under the age of 17 living with Type 1 diabetes in Northern Ireland and almost 1 in 4 of these reached DKA before a diagnosis was made. DKA can develop quickly and occurs when a severe lack of insulin upsets the body’s normal chemical balance and causes it to produce poisonous chemicals known as ketones. If undetected, these ketones can result in serious illness, coma and even death.
Iain Foster, National Director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland said “It’s a scary fact that too many of our children are ending up seriously ill in hospital as a result of missed symptoms or mis-diagnosis. With DKA the child has gone from feeling a bit off colour to very unwell in a short space of time and it is imperative that we try and prevent this. As well as creating awareness among parents and indeed all those who come into contact with children, we will be working with healthcare professionals to ensure that they too are more alert to the symptoms and that the right tests are carried out when a child presents with any one of them. By doing so we hope that more cases of Type 1 diabetes will be diagnosed before DKA develops.”
The most common symptoms of Type 1 diabetes in children and young people are going to the toilet a lot, bedwetting in a previously dry child or heavier nappies in babies, being very thirsty and not being able to quench that thirst, feeling very tired and losing weight or looking thinner than usual.
Case study: Kathryn and Sarah Cooney
Kathryn Cooney from Lisburn is one of 40 parents joining Diabetes UK Northern Ireland at Stormont today (Wednesday) to launch the campaign and raise awareness of the 4 Ts of Type 1 diabetes among MLA’s and healthcare representatives. Kathryn’s daughter, Sarah (now 14) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2008, aged 9, and ended up critically ill with DKA before she received her diagnosis. Kathryn admits she had no knowledge of diabetes and its symptoms before Sarah was diagnosed.
“In the week leading up to Sarah’s diagnosis she was drinking loads of water- glass after glass- and she was going to the toilet a lot; even getting up in the middle of the night. She was exhausted and generally not in good form, but I put this down to her just being back at school after the busy Christmas holidays.
“On the Saturday Sarah started to complain of a sore tummy. I asked all the usual questions- ‘when was the last time you went to the toilet?’, ‘are you hungry?’ etc, but as I didn’t think it was serious, I didn’t want to bother the out of hours doctor- something I have regretted ever since. By that evening, Sarah still had a sore tummy and by this stage was drinking litres of water. She came into my room on Sunday morning and I will never forget it- she looked like someone had sucked everything from under her skin and just left her bones! She was white with big black circles around her eyes. You’d think that at this stage alarm bells would have rung, but I still didn’t want to bother the out of hours doctor so I gave her more calpol and let her sleep on the sofa for most of the day.
“On the Monday morning we got an emergency appointment with our doctor and she suggested it could be a kidney infection...or diabetes. She gave us a prescription for antibiotics and sent us to the treatment room to get bloods taken. While we were there, the nurse happened to test Sarah’s blood glucose and it showed a very high reading so we were sent to A&E immediately. The whole way there Sarah was drifting in and out of a sleepy coma- I thought she was going to die in the back of my car. The next few hours were a bit of a blur as the medical team tried to get Sarah stabilised. She was in DKA but eventually, after an anxious wait; she was finally transferred to the ward. She was still so weak and weighed just 4 stone.
“Stupidly I thought the doctors were going to give us a tablet to make her better and send us home- I knew nothing about diabetes or the impact it would have on our lives. Had I known the signs and symptoms of diabetes, it may have alerted me a lot earlier and perhaps Sarah wouldn’t have been so ill when she was diagnosed. I can’t blame the doctors for not diagnosing her earlier as it was me who didn’t realise her symptoms were linked to the condition.
“On a positive note, all of my friends and family now know the symptoms of diabetes and when my best friend’s daughter started drinking lots of water, she brought her to the doctor straight away and following a blood glucose test, she too was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, but thankfully as a result of spotting the signs, her story ended much better than ours.
“Sarah and I are backing Diabetes UK’s campaign because it’s so important that parents are educated in the signs and symptoms of diabetes. We all know the symptoms of meningitis and other childhood illnesses so hopefully through this campaign, more of us will be aware of Type 1 diabetes too.”
Northern Ireland sees highest rise in diabetes in UK
Diabetes UK Northern Ireland has warned of the continuing growth of diabetes here as figures collected this month revealed the number of people living with Type 1 and type 2 diabetes has increased by 33% in Northern Ireland during the last five years compared to just 25% in England, 20% in Wales and 18% in Scotland.*
The total number of adults with diabetes aged 17 and over registered with GPs here is 75,837 and a further 1,038 young people under 17 are known to have Type 1 diabetes; another significant rise. Prevalence in the Northern Ireland population is now over 4%. There are also an estimated 10,000 people also have diabetes but have not yet been diagnosed.
Iain Foster, National Director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland said: “Given that Northern Ireland has the smallest population of all the other UK nations, these statistics are very worrying and we must take urgent steps to ensure that they don’t continue to escalate further. Diabetes is a rising challenge within our health service and it is vital that an effective strategy is put in place to ensure we do not see a similar increase in the next five years.
“Diabetes and its complications are putting a huge strain on resources within our health service and as cuts continue to be made across all Trusts, the multi-disciplinary teams treating diabetes are becoming increasingly less equipped to meet the demand of patients and provide the necessary education for effective self-management."
Type 2 diabetes is often, but not always, linked to lifestyle factors and in many cases the condition can be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, taking regular physical activity and eating a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables but low in fat, sugar and salt. However, Type 1 is also on the increase and is a serious condition that develops when the body cannot produce any insulin. The cause of Type 1 diabetes is still unknown but it has no link to lifestyle and therefore cannot be prevented.
The main symptoms of diabetes include urinating frequently especially at night, increased thirst, extreme tiredness, unexplained weight loss, genital itching or regular episodes of thrush, slow healing of cuts and wounds, and blurred vision.
* All data collected from GMS Contract, Quality and Outcomes Framework for Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
Big success for Diabetes Week 2012
Diabetes Week 2012 took place from 10 to 16 June and events took place all over Northern Ireland throughout the week to create awareness about diabetes, its symptoms and complications. The theme of this year’s Diabetes Week was Making the Connection and the foot campaign was once again the focus of much of the activity. A number of events helped to highlight the importance of good foot care when living with diabetes.
Diabetes Week at Stormont
Pictured at the Diabetes Week launch at Stormont are (l-r) Colin Holmes, Iain Foster and Health Minister Edwin Poots
Health Minister, Edwin Poots launched Diabetes Week at Stormont on Monday 11 June and almost one hundred people attended the event including health care professionals, MLAs and members of Diabetes Voices. The audience heard from a number of key speakers working in the multi-disciplinary field of diabetic foot care including cardiovascular surgeon for the Belfast Trust, Bernard Lee and Principal Podiatrist for the Belfast Trust, Kim Martin. Guests also heard a very poignant account from Colin Holmes, a 57 year old former solicitor who lost both legs to amputation as a result of Type 1 diabetes.
As well as the speakers, SDLP MLA, Pat Ramsey hosted the launch of a special report by pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, entitled Diabetes in Northern Ireland: the human, social and economic challenge.
In a separate event held at Stormont on Wednesday 13 June, SDLP MLA, Conall McDevitt hosted a small event entitled a showcase of specialisms in diabetes for 30 invited guests. The audience heard from a variety of healthcare professionals and the mother of a young girl who has received an insulin pump and whose life has been totally transformed as a result. A number of MLAs supported the event including Deputy-Chair of Health Committee, Jim Wells.
Charity partners and volunteers creating awareness
Thank-you to charity partner Translink who were very active in supporting this year’s Diabetes Week. They produced some excellent literature and posters and held several awareness events at bus and train stations across Northern Ireland. They also worked with their own staff, many of whom have diabetes themselves, to create awareness of the symptoms of diabetes and volunteers from Diabetes UK carried out risk assessment for staff at Translink’s bus stations in Omagh and Derry.
Boots also supported Diabetes Week by having an awareness stand in their flagship store in Belfast and offering advice to customers.
Volunteers from Diabetes UK also attended a number of events throughout the week including a pharmacy awareness event in Bannside Pharmacy Portglenone and a Keep well, Keep Safe event in Armagh City Hotel.
Fundraising
A big thank-you to Colin Finley who organised a sponsored canoe challenge from Spelga Dam to Castlerock during Diabetes Week. Colin, his brother David and some of their friends- all of whom were canoeing novices- completed the brave challenge in just 4 days and received wide support from their local communities.
Thank-you to everyone who supported this year’s Diabetes Week. Click here to download the press release and find out more about the Foot campaign.