With the help of our supporters, volunteers and our network of Diabetes Voices across Wales, Diabetes UK Cymru works to improve the support and assistance provided to all people with diabetes in Wales. These are a few things we have achieved together
Support to help you understand your diabetes
Following a successful campaign, all newly diagnosed people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes in Wales will now be offered Structured Diabetes Education by their local healthcare team. If you are interested in accessing diabetes education, speak with your doctor or nurse or find out more aboutTaking Controlof your diabetes.
Diabetes Voices
With the help of Diabetes Voices, we have seen a record number of attendees at meetings across Wales in 2015. Diabetes Voices have attended meetings with the NHS, Local Health Boards, Welsh Government, Assembly Members and other organisations. This means that the diabetes patient perspective has been given to decision makers and service providers to inform the way that diabetes services are delivered. Find out more aboutDiabetes Voicestoday.
Peer Review
We worked with leading paediatricians from across Wales and met with the Minister for Health to persuade the Welsh Government to establish the peer review process in Wales. We were delighted when the Welsh Government agreed and have since seen important changes to diabetes childrens services in Wales.
You can read the full report on ourHealthcare Policy in Walespage.
Left to Right - Dr Sam Rice, Dr Justin Warner, Dr Neera Agarwal and Scott CawleyClinical Champions
The Clinical Champions programme is designed to support health care professionals in championing the cause of patients with diabetes with the intention of improving quality of life and clinical outcomes.
Part of the champions’ job will be to look for areas of improvement and work together with stakeholders to improve patient experience and clinical outcomes of people with diabetes.
The four clinical champions in Wales areDr Justin Warner, Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology, Scott Cawley, Podiatry Professional Clinical Lead,Dr Sam Rice, Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist and Dr Neera Agarwal, consultant Diabetes Physician.
Transition Conference
One area that we want to see improve in Wales is the transition from children to adult services. This is why we worked with Welsh Government to organise the first ever Transition Conference in Wales, gathering healthcare professionals from across the country to share best practice, experiences and discuss ways we can improve transition for young people in Wales.
Diabetes leadership in Wales
Following meetings with Assembly Members and the Minister for Health arguing for the benefits of a senior doctor to lead diabetes services for all of Wales, earlier this year the Welsh Government agreed to appoint a Diabetes Clinical Lead for Wales who we hope will help improve diabetes services for everyone across Wales.
Quicker and better diagnosis of diabetes –
We have worked with Public Health Wales to identify the estimated 60,000 people in Wales who have diabetes but have not been diagnosed. In the last three years with the help of all pharmacies across Wales, we have conducted over 30,000 diabetes risk assessments and thousands of people have been referred to their GP for further tests.
Better diabetes services across Wales
After meeting with the Minister for Health and the Assembly Members of the Health & Social Care Committee, we persuaded the Welsh Assembly to conduct an inquiry into diabetes services. Doctors and nurses from across Wales gave evidence and a number of important recommendations were produced to improve future diabetes services across Wales.
All Wales Diabetes Implementation Group
Diabetes UK Cymru has long campaigned for better co-ordination of diabetes services across Wales to make sure that all people with diabetes get the same high levels of help and support.
The Welsh Government and NHS Wales have set up a new national group of diabetes specialist nurses and doctors called the All Wales Diabetes Implementation Group to make sure this happens
Better co-ordination of your care
Living with diabetes means that you receive help and support from different health care professionals like your doctor, nurse and consultant. It’s really important that they work together as a team for you.
After meetings with the charity, the Welsh Government has agreed to implement a new diabetes patient management IT system across Wales to make sure that up-to-date diabetes health details are available to all members of your healthcare team at the same time.
Better care for children with Type 1 diabetes –
We have worked with some of the top paediatricians across Wales to persuade the Welsh Government to provide better support to doctors and nurses in the future. The Welsh Government has agreed to establish a new paediatric network meaning all 14 children’s centres for children with Type 1 diabetes can meet together, share some of the latest thinking in diabetes research, and make sure all children’s services in Wales deliver the same high quality care.