18
NEWS
JDRF now Breakthrough T1D
Diabetes Awareness Week is, as Diabetes UK puts it, is
a "week to raise awareness and shout about the things
that matter to YOU."
While 10-16 June
this year was an
opportunity to offer
greater support
and information to people living
with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, it
also aimed to increase awareness
of the condition among the wider
population.
Diabetes UK focused on the
health checks people with diabetes
need, principally eye, feet and HbA1c
checks. It's crucial they attend
these routine appointments on a
regular basis in order to stay well
and avoid or mitigate complications.
Many adults with the condition
work during the day when most
health appointments take place and
sometimes struggle to get to them, so
the charity was keen to highlight the
rights of workers to attend these vital
check-ups.
Rights include protection from
discrimination in the workplace
as a result of having diabetes
and entitlement to reasonable
adjustments, which should be
confirmed in writing. Adjustments
could include time off for medical
appointments, flexible hours and
more frequent breaks to eat, check
blood sugar or take insulin.
Diabetes UK also took the
opportunity to call on the next
government to offer people with
diabetes the support they need both
in the workplace and outside. This
includes a commitment to paid time
off for medical appointments and,
more generally, ensuring that wages
and social security are adequate for
people to lead healthy lives.
Find out more about your rights
at work and Diabetes UK's campaign
CLICK HERE.
Breakthrough T1D
JDRF, which is undergoing a
rebranding and a name change
to Breakthrough T1D, released a
moving and insightful video entitled
"This is not just a line". Its aim was
to show in simple terms how tough
and relentless it can be to live with
T1 diabetes. It's well worth a watch
for people with the condition, their
loved ones and anyone who has never
considered what it's like.
Also to mark Diabetes Awareness
Week, JDRF ambassador James
Norton read the CBeebies bedtime
story, How to Manage a Mammoth by
Dr Rose Stewart on 14 June. The film
and television actor, perhaps best
known for TV crime drama Happy
Valley, was diagnosed with Type 1
diabetes at the age of 22.
Dr Rose Stewart, an awardwinning consultant
clinical
psychologist in diabetes, created
the book in collaboration with NHS
Wales. It aims to help families explore
how they feel about living with Type
1 and encourages them to think of it
as an animal that won't go away but
can be accepted and managed. In the
case of How to Manage a Mammoth,
the hero, eight-year-old Jake, sees
his condition as a mammoth called
Mel that he has to shrink to a size he
can cope with. The book is published
by Cambridge University Press. To
see James Norton's CBeebies reading
CLICK HERE.
Diabetes Awareness Week 2024
also saw many other organisations
and individuals raising consciousness
about diabetes. Initiatives included a
bake sale in aid of JDRF at St James'
Secondary School, Exeter, a static
bike ride by employees at hygiene and
work protection services company
Elis in Birmingham and a campaign by
Somerset NHS to raise awareness of
its Pathway to Remission Programme
for people with Type 2. Somerset is
one of 21 areas in the country to offer
the programme, which helps people
with Type 2 lose weight with the help
of a supervised ultra low-calorie diet.