Thanks Nic, and Helana too for highlighting our problems here. We are certainly in campaign mode and need to focus on the issue of service cuts, and I think that other DHBs are watching carefully to see if MidCentral actually go ahead with their proposals. It would put us back more than 30 years. It is not appreciated that the staff at Diabetes Lifestyle Centre have taken years to train to reach the standard of excellence there. The DHB consider that the nurses at the PHO and Practice Nurses working with the GPs would be able to handle most things.
I think it would help if all through the country people made sure that they are not going to lose any of their own services, but if anyone did want to write a letter of support for us here we would appreciate it very much. We are sending out our newsletter this week and in it we are asking for local people to write/email letters and send them to our society, where they will be collated and presented to the appropriate person. The email address is diabetesmana@xtra.co.nz. Thanks heaps.

I nearly cried when I read this. We have just moved back to Bulls after 5 yrs in Auckland, and obviously one of our concerns was the level of care that we could get for Tyler after experiencing the care at Starship. We had our 1st appt a couple of weeks ago and were thrilled.
Now it seems, we may lose that. Going to a GP for something as complex as Diabetes is just absurd. They have no real idea of what is involved in keeping our son healthy and most have never seen a pump before. And then there all the other issues involved, like dietician advice and probably one of the most important things, emotional support, which is one aspect that I think is overlooked far too often. (Our GP told us to get over it and stop being dramatic!)
I am more than willing to write a letter of support so will be keeping my eye out for the newsletter.
NOT HAPPY and indeed, quite frightened for my son’s future….

Yes it is true that the DHB are planning to decimate the specialist diabetes service at MidCentral Health. This will make MCH the lowest staffed specialist diabetes service in NZ with the 9th biggest population of the 21 DHBs. The PHO diabetes nurses have been trained to support GPs and practice nurses with the care of people with relatively uncomplicated type 2 diabetes only, they do not have the expertise to cope with children, teenagers, pregnant women (or those planning a pregnancy), pumps, emergency department and hospital referrals, type 1 diabetes and complicated type 2 diabetes. It is very important for every person with diabetes and their family members to write to the MDHB Board members and tell them how wrong this is and why. Their details can be found on the MDHB website. Equally importantly, lobby your local MPs, especially those in the Manawatu, Horowhenua or Tararua districts and/or email Tony Ryall and Turiana Turia directly. BE HEARD AND DO IT SOON!

Thanks Nic for putting this in the blog! We have an amazing service in this area and as someone who relies on this service for my own diabetes care I really don’t know what i would do if we were to lose it. At the moment we have contact with a diabetes nurse by appoitment, email, text or phone call for day to day support, then we have our wonderful endiogrnoligst (spelling) team, as well as a diabetes dietician team!! Lot’s of people who provide wonderful support for all diabetics in this area, it’s hard to understand whith diabetes on the rise how our DHB can even think about cutting this service!!!!!! It is a reminder i guess that we need to let them know just how much we value this service so DON”T TAKE IT AWAY!! Thanks Nic

This is awful news! The Palmy DLC has been there for me since day one and have always been such a fabulous support. My husband and I are in the process of planning for children (don’t tell him I used the plural there!) and the idea of services getting cut is scary to say the least.

I have gladly written my letter of support as I feel for those patients who are at risk of having this valuable service so drastically reduced.
If it can happen there, which PHO will take up the reins and follow them?
When I was dx’d in 1957 there was no DNE’s and only a few Diabetologists to advise us…we certainly don’t need to go down that road again!
The very best of luck Kathy – please keep us up-to-date with any future developments.

Gail
Auckland

Sorry….in my haste to post my thoughts I typed PHO instead of DHB…must be getting old!

Gail

Having lived in Palmy, I’ve got to say that Helen Snell was the best thing for diabetes in the manawatu. Lets just say that I was very much less than impressed with the Diabetes nursing” standards at the GP’s in palmy.

You have my support. GP’s around the world are nearly always no good at managing type 1 diabetes. This applies even more to those with pumps, or who are pregnant.
There has always been a drive to educate GP’s to manage Type 2 diabetics independently. Not all our capable of this, but part of this will be due to education. However they still need a tertiary service to support them

This is worrying to me. If we see this happen here and the government judges it a success then my thinking is that it will be likely to out over the other DHBs.

We need MORE money to cope with this epidemic not less!! Bloody fools.

I can understand the disappointment but why the surprise? With Tania Turia appointed as Associate Minister of Health with responsibility for Diabetes there is no one at the highest level with the capacity or the energy (stomach stapling aside, she’s fully occupied on what are for her more pressing, Maori focused, matters) to raise the standard for diabetic care, let alone hold it.

Get real folks … if you’re diabetic, particularly type 1 and on a pump, Australia offers infinitely better health care.

The other thing is the DHB structure works against diabetics getting the same standard of care throughout the one country …. varies greatly from the Waikato, reputedly the best, to the minions like the West Coast and perhaps Mid-Central DHBs … tho I suspect Mid-Central is actually better than quite a few.

System is a shambles but there is no political will to improve the situation.

Thank you all for your comments. I must say that we do have excellent services here, often held up as a model to other parts of the country. We have the only Diabetes Nurse Practitioner in the country, with another one who has almost completed the requirements for registration as a Practitioner. We have 20 children on pumps funded by the DHB, an excellent record with diabetes and pregnancy etc. etc. – this has taken 30 years to build up – we fought for these services 32 years ago and were given a Diabetes Nurse Educator – from these foundations, laid by a few very dedicated people, we have a service to be proud of and which as consumers we are proud – but as one personat the DHB said to me – “Pride doesn’t pay the bills’ We battle on. I’m cheered by responses from some Politicians and there are people in high places working on our behalf and we thank them too.

Letters are easy, what else can we do? Please let us know how we can step in and push for a better system. Being new to the country I will take all the guidance I can get.

Letters are something but in real terms do little other than gather dust on paper piles …. in Australia the Diabetes Lobby is an effective well regarded lobbying organisation that has produced results for ALL diabetics …. not just type 2’s

Who should we address our letters to, Kathy?

Cheers
Nic

They could go to ‘The Secretary’ diabetesmana@xtra.co.nz
and headed TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN – and I will take copy all letters and take packets of them to the CEO of the DHB and the Chairman, I will email Tony Ryall and Turiana Turia and all the MPs in our area with the numbers. Also I will do a summary of what is said to include.
Thanks everyone again – we’re delighted with the support.
The action already taken by Diabetes NZ Manawatu and their supporters has caused quite a stir already and there are questions being asked in high up places. The numbers of people with diabetes estimated in our area are 7,695. there is to be a march in Palmerston North today regarding all the cuts in services proposed by MidCentral DHB. However, as I think I have said it is anti-government. I believe in protesting the ‘issue’ and the DHB’s priorities in how they spend their money. They have already wasted money on unnecessary consultants who charge very high fees.

Just another thing about lobbying. In the Board papers under ‘Stakeholders’ Diabetes Manawatu and Diabetes Youth’ are mentioned and it is stated underneath that we are a very vocal group with strong advocacy and support networks.(someone kindly said that means we are a stroppy lot, but in fact just means we are passionate about the cause.) I have had a meeting with the CEO, and also seen the Chairman. Others have visited MPs and we have all given supporting evidence.

Four of the issues as I see them are

1. Tania Turia as the Associate Minister of Health with responsibility for diabetes has no real interest in matters beyond Maori issues. Her appointment was little more than another financial sop by National to gain her party’s support on supply and demand.

She may be type 2 and advocate for public funding of stomach stapling operations but she declined to meet with me to discuss the benefits of insulin pumps for type 1 diabetics issues as well as funding for insulin pumps and consumables.

2. DNZ is an ineffective lobbying group at a national level …we have been poorly served by them. In contrast the issues type 1s face in NZ have largely been resolved in Australia … thanks in no small part to the good work that Diabetes Australia put in to rebutt the short sightedness of their Health officials/beaurocrats.

3. 21 DHBs throughout the country is too many. Major discrepancies in services provided … as evident by Mid-Central proposing to cut back on a services that are already worse than Auckland, Waikato, Capital Coast and ChCh BHBs.

4. Apathy from type 1s who are content to be administratively bundled up with the more numerous and higher profile type 2s … some of whom have a genetic predisposition while most are obese due to poor diet and exercise … sadly we are often swamped and marginalised by them.

For all those in or around the Manawatu, there is a rally planned for Tuesday 8th June, 1pm in the Square, to protest against the health cuts for diabetes and other services. We need as many as possible people to turn up. Horowhenua had 400 people turn up to their rally. We should have at least 1400! Tell everyone you know and encourage them to turn up.

In the mean time, as well as letters/emails, contact the newspapers and have your say. The voice of someone living it is very powerful. Make an appointment so see your local MP. They may not have much power but it creates noise. Approach your DHB Board members and disabuse them of the inaccurate information they have been given about the DLC, we have elected them to represent us after all!

Get any and every community group you know to make a commotion.

Go fr’it Gary …. The shame of it is the services currently provided are in need of investment so T1s get the same range of services available to say folk ‘lucky’ enough to live the DNBs I previously mentioned.

Tell me is diabetes Manawatu (the group supposedly representing T1s as well as T2s) working with you? On a national level DNZ is distracted by the baubles and lack the necessary sense of outrage!

Gary, can’t make it to the rally on June 8th, but will be there in spirit. I just don’t know what they are thinking?!
I have just flicked an email to my local MP, Simon Power and laid it on pretty thick!
May even email Mr Ryall and Ms Turia, for what good it will do as I already know what they think of Type 1! (It’s not Type 2!)
All the best for the rally.

Thanks Debs, and Matt, yes Diabetes Manawatu are working hard on this, and Diabetes NZ is also doing their bit. I agree that type 2 tends to get all the attention and the ‘powers that be’ don’t seem to get the difference between type 1 and type 2 and what that means day to day. It is a total nonsense to think that GPs, the Practice Nurses and the PHO based nurses can provide the level of care needed if the diabetes specialist service is cut as proposed. They know that too and are equally as worried.