Midwest Diabetes

#AccessToCare #IfNotNowWhen

Midwest Diabetes is a group of people with diabetes from Limerick and Clare who have campaigned for better diabetes services in the University of Limerick Hospitals since 2019.

We organized several events in 2021 around World Diabetes Day to highlight these issues. Stay tuned for upcoming events.

2021 WDD Events

Access to Care

The purpose of the Midwest Diabetes Group's "Access to Care' campaign is to highlight the need to improve diabetes services (Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary).

WE WANT:

Structured Education (DAFNE) for those attending the adult diabetes clinic, Limerick hospital
Insulin pumps as a treatment option or those attending the adult diabetes clinic, Limerick hospital
Reduce the waiting list for an appointment to the outpatient diabetes clinic in Limerick

By implementing the proposed actions, people with diabetes can improve their quality of life and prevent diabetes complications. To learn more about other issues in Ireland, please visit the Diabetes Ireland Advocacy webpage here.

Here's a recap of what we've achieved so far:

The DAFNE centre has been approved for the University of Limerick Hospital Group along with 12 posts for the outpatient adult diabetes clinic.

3 Consultant endocrinologist
2 Dietitians
3 Additional clinical nurse specialists
2 Staff nurses

2021 Word Diabetes Day Events

Take Part

2021 World Diabetes Day

Over 30 people including local TD's and councilors attended last year's World Diabetes Day Public demonstration in Limerick, and approximately 50 Parliamentary Questions were put to the Minister for Health to address the issues.

Let's make 2022 even bigger!

Save the date, Sunday 13th November, for the next World Diabetes day! More details to come.

Access to Care Social Media Campaign

To create a buzz about our campaign on social media, we created the Access to Care social media campaign where people sent us their photos of where they were from and what they wanted more access to in their area. Erin then put all the photos in a video collage which you can see below.

Dip for Diabetes

Group members Erin and Jean are passionate sea swimmers and organised a Dip for Diabetes on Sunday, October 31st to launch our campaign and bring people with diabetes together. This event has continued under T1D Dips and you can join Erin and Jean through the social media links.