For those of you who don’t know, my sis has Type ONE diabetes (also called insulin dependent diabetes or juvenile onset diabetes mellitus) which is the GENETIC form of diabetes, an inherited autoimmune disease where the pancreas cannot produce insulin to process sugars within the body. It is incurable and requires life-long treatment.

The District Health Board in Southland are withdrawing funding for the ONE AND ONLY regional Diabetes nurse in the Queenstown area. Which basically means that if my sis needs care she has to travel 3 hours to Invercargill to get specialist help. GP’s are inadequate in this sense as they do not have the specialist knowledge on monitoring diabetes day to day and the associated health risks.

If my sis has any urgent requirements there will now no longer be any kind of diabetes specialist within three hours to give her urgent help or care…

This is happening all around the country and it is UNACCEPTABLE. People in our communities (of which my sister is only one) need this support and specialist medical advice available to them.

My Mum and I are taking something to the Ministry of Health to question the withdrawal of these services in several areas in NZ.

If you know of anyone who has diabetes, or anyone who knows anyone who has diabetes please give us a hand just by joining this group and giving us your support.

And if you don’t, then join to say that the Health system needs to get its act together. There are few enough services for people living with long term illnesses as it is.

And if neither of these reasons appeal to you, I’ll just ask you to do it for me…

I REALLY appreciate your support as this is a big thing for my sis and for my family, and there are so many families out there going through the same thing.