Children with Diabetes Feel Ignored

Wed, 27 Jan 2010
Many thousands of children and teenagers with diabetes have been left disenfranchised and at risk of developing serious health complications, as they feel healthcare professionals and schools do not always listen to their needs and help them manage their diabetes .

This is a recent finding of a Diabetes UK report.

The charity is now calling for improved provision of and access to educational and psychological support for children and young people with diabetes .

In 2009 it was uncovered that 61 per cent of children and young people with diabetes aged up to 17 years stated that they were very rarely able to talk about their needs or only able to talk about them "some of the time" when trying to discuss their diabetes care goals with their healthcare team.

Lots of children and young people wished to have better access to advice on food choices as well as psychological support. However, in 2009 only 16 per cent of children and young people had access to a dietician and just 0.5 per cent to a psychologist.

The Diabetes UK’s Survey of diabetics and access to healthcare services 2009 report highlighted that 56 per cent of children and young people would prefer to see better communication between their diabetes care team and schools in order that they could receive the needed support to manage their diabetes better.

The charity has called for all young people and children with diabetes to have a care plan developed in conjunction with their school and their healthcare team. Presently, 46 per cent of children and young people are without such a plan.

Diabetes management is extremely difficult for children and young people as adolescence is an extremely difficult time to achieve good diabetes control due to hormonal changes which can impact on blood glucose levels.

Poor diabetes control means children and young people are at greater risk of developing serious complications related to diabetes in the future, including amputation, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke and blindness .

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