10th edition – Friday, August 1, 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Hypo Awareness Week

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Glucose monitoring lens moves a step closer

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Diabetes nurses to celebrate ten years at conference

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Doctors sceptical over NICE weight loss surgery move

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Gosport Gathering – Dr Partha Kar’s latest blog post

It was a nice pleasant evening, perhaps a tad muggy as I walked into the seminar room at the Gosport War Memorial. A patient engagement event laid out to discuss openly with the people in the community about their diabetes care and it was nice to see people spare their time to come out and simply...chat.

The fabulous community nurses – Jane and Julia were there outlining the educational role they have for primary care before some open Q&A from the audience and it was nice to see a lot of interaction from the attendees. And there were a few...frustrations about lack of communication between different sectors of the NHS, frustration regards access, queries about local amputation rates, the essential healthcare checks, the need for healthy food, the practical difficulties regards exercise...but amongst them, there were also those who were simply happy with their care.

To read more, click here.

Botham selects JDRF for new foundation

Sir Ian Botham has picked JDRF as one of five organisations to receive support from the cricket legend’s new charity foundation.

'Beefy’ has dedicated much of his life to raising funds for worthy causes.

His daughter Becky Botham-Armstrong has Type 1 diabetes and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for JDRF in June.

The new Beefy’s Charity Foundation, which was launched in west London on July 16, will provide support to JDRF and four other charities, including Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, Brain Tumour Research and Support, Cardiac Risk in the Young and The Batten Disease Family Association.

Adele Claase, Head of Events for JDRF, said: “JDRF is so fortunate to have the Botham family as friends.

To read more, click here.

Hypo Awareness Week

Diabetes hospital teams are being invited to take part in Hypo Awareness Week 2014.

The aim of the week, which runs from September 29 to October 5, is to raise awareness of hypoglycaemia in the inpatient setting to help hospital staff recognise and treat symptoms and refer patients to appropriate care teams.

The week will work in very much the same way as in previous years – an online resource pack will be made available to participating sites, containing all of the resources needed to stage awareness events and campaigns in your hospital. There will also be a webinar to help encourage the spread of good practice.

To read more, click here.

Glucose monitoring lens moves a step closer

Novartis has signed a deal with Google to development the internet giant’s contact lens aimed at measuring blood sugar.

The technology, first previewed in January, uses tiny sensors to record glucose readings and then transfers the data via a wireless chip.

The pharmaceutical firm has now joined the project, announcing that its eye care division Alcon has entered into an agreement with a division of Google Inc. to in-license its ‘smart lens’ technology for all ocular medical uses.

To read more, click here.

Diabetes nurses to celebrate ten years at conference

Diabetes nurses will be celebrating their group’s 10th anniversary when they come together in the autumn.

The Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurse (DISN) UK Group’s annual conference takes place on October 1 at Novotel London City South.

Chair Esther Walden, Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurse, said: “The Annual DISN conference has now been organised. This is our 10th year so we are feeling particularly celebratory this year.”

Admission costs £20 but places are limited so people are urged to apply as soon as possible to guarantee attendance.

To apply down this registration form and email it to Caroline Stevens. To view the agenda, click here.

Doctors sceptical over NICE weight loss surgery move

Doctors are sceptical over plans by NICE to make an extra 850,000 people eligible for bariatric surgery and believe the move to tackle Type 2 diabetes is an “easy way out”, according to a study.

Earlier this month the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) proposed lowering the threshold for the obesity-busting procedure for newly-diagnosed Type 2 diabetes to a BMI of 30, down from 35.

The reaction on Twitter saw almost 80 per cent of social media commentators express negative views in response to the news, according to research conducted by the website Healthcare Professional Digital Opinion Leaders.

The analysis, which studied 46 tweets, found healthcare professionals were immediately concerned over the financial burden on the NHS of offering weight loss surgery to more patients, instead calling for an emphasis on lifestyle changes.

DIABETES DIGEST

Get out tape measure to avoid Type 2 diabetes, say Public Health England

People are being urged to assess their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes with a tape measure.

Men who have a waist circumference of over 102cm (40.2 inches) are five times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, according to new analysis by Public Health England (PHE) released today in a report.

The study also suggests women with a large waist circumference of more than 88cm (34.7 inches) are three times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

To read more, click here.

Diabetes survey

A diabetes charity is urging people with the condition to complete a food-themed survey to help inform future campaigning work.

The InDependent Diabetes Trust has launched its Living with Diabetes Survey 2014, with the short questionnaire covering food and diet as well as other key aspects.

It comes on the back of the trust’s recently launched and successful book Diabetes – Food, Meds and More.

To read more, click here.

Type 1 children's app shortlisted for top award

A new healthcare app aimed at helping children with Type 1 diabetes better manage their condition has been shortlisted in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Value in Healthcare Awards.

Monster Manor, a free app for children with Type 1 diabetes to make blood glucose testing more fun, was developed through a partnership of Ayogo, Diabetes UK, Oxford Academic Health Science Network and Sanofi Diabetes. It is in the running in the Value and Improvement in Medical Technology category.

To read more, click here.

£200,000 grant to improve diabetes care in Midlands

Diabetes UK and the Centre for Patient Leadership (CPL) have been awarded £200,000 to develop innovative ways for people living with diabetes to work with the NHS to lead improvements in care in the Midlands.

The money is from the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund, which is run by the Department of Health, supports the voluntary sector to develop strategic innovative approaches to healthcare and best practice that are led by volunteers.

To read more, click here.