The House of Commons, yesterday
Now the election in the UK has been won (sort of) a whole new load of MPs are moving into their new offices in the House of Commons, all of them blissfully unaware of the pancreatically-challenged hordes out there.
Of course, viewers in Scotland will have the same old MSPs until 2011 (health being a devolved matter); but for the meantime we’re going to ignore them (along with the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies). Hope you don’t mind.
Anyway, my thinking is this – all these new MPs need to be educated about diabetes, the problems that it brings and the issues in diabetes healthcare which concern people with broken pancreases. They’ve got other things to worry about – such as insanely large budget deficits – and they’re not going to do any research into moderately obscure medical conditions themselves. Therefore, we need to write to them to tutor them in the dark arts of the pancreas.
Our friends at Diabetes UK, JDRF and so on are very good at doing this sort of thing; but I do think nothing beats a personal letter to your MP to reinforce the point. It’s all good stuff.
However, the downside is that letter writing is somewhat tedious at the best of times; therefore here at your soaraway Shoot Up we’re toying with putting together some template letters for you to use. Unedited template letters are pointless, but they do form a useful framework to which you can add your own personal experiences of diabetes. And the more personal they are the better.
But we need your help. In general, given Shoot Up has a bias towards Type One so will the letters (sorry Terry – our token type two!) But what things about diabetes care concern you? What themes should letters cover?
So, for example, does a lack of DSNs make getting help and advice impossible? Are clinics too infrequent and difficult to get to? Are newer technologies – such as pumps or CGM – not available in your area? Do you want your health care provider to concentrate on good day-to-day care, or do you want them to strike out for a cure?
So many questions – let us know what you think now!
I think pumps and CGM are going to be high on my list of priorities.
I agree with Tim. I’ve had my pump for just over 2 months, and it’s made some extraordinary differences to my life, in ways I didn’t expect. I’d be happy to write some sort of testimonial to the brilliance of pumps that could go in the template letter for non-pump users, but first hand evidence would definitely have the biggest impact I think.
If Scotland gets a Scottish Parliament, would it be unreasonable to petition for a Diabetic Assembly?
Sadly, thanks to Gordy and his profligate pals, pumps and CGM may become much harder to come by on both sides of the border. 🙁
Leaving politics aside, anything to put pressure on the powers that be is a good thing. Personally, I believe that a good DSN is the most cost effective and patient friendly way for the NHS to deal with diabetics. As far as the GPs and hospitals are concerned, many of them need additional training.
At risk of turning this into an essay, during my recent stay in hospital for my angioplasty, many of the patients on the Cardiac Care Ward were T2 diabetic with the odd T1 for variety. Most were still on a fixed routine of specified insulin dosage at regular times rather than the ‘test and treat’ system that works so well for me; they’re still using water wheels whilst I’m on steam!
By the way, if you ever go into hospital, don’t let ’em near you with an NHS finger pricker. If these devices were used in prisons they would constitute a ‘cruel and unusual punishment’!
Personal priorities: CGM.
General priorities: pumps for all who want them, more DSNs with more training.
I feel day-to-day care comes above prevention, which in turn comes above a cure.
@Annette… I’ll drink to that! 😉