Diabetes charity secures £1m annual funding from Government

Tuesday 02 February 2021

A local charity dedicated to helping islanders with diabetes has secured £1m-a-year from Government to fund specialist devices and staff, after succeeding in their battle to stop donations "subsidising" what they believed should be public services.

Representatives from Diabetes Jersey had been in discussions with the Health Minister, Deputy Richard Renouf and Director General, Caroline Landon, since November 2019.

Earlier that year, Express had revealed the charity, which was originally founded to help raise awareness of diabetes, was “subsidising” the Health Department £120,000 every year by funding the salary of a Diabetes Specialist Dietician and a clerical assistant at the Diabetes Centre, as well as spending £30,000 on glucose dispensers for children.

Pictured: The charity raised concerns over the lack of technological devices then being provided to those with the condition.

The charity campaigned for service improvements and raised concerns over the lack of technological devices then being provided to those with the condition.

Bill O’Brien, the charity’s Chairman, said both the Minister and Director General had recognised that improvements were required from the beginning of their discussions.

Since then, Mrs Landon and her team have worked with the charity in what Mr O’Brien described as a transparent way, resulting in additional funds in the 2021 Budget being made available to the charity on a permanent basis to improve the care and support for those with diabetes.

“We are thankful for the transparency and the approach taken by the Minister and the Director General in the process,” Mr O’Brien said. 

“All the things the charity sought to achieve in our discussions has been achieved. The action taken was swift, decisive and will undoubtedly greatly improve the level of care offered to those with the condition.”  

Pictured: Thanks to the funding, islanders who are insulin-dependent and who would benefit from technical devices to monitor their condition, will have those devices fully funded.

The funding means that islanders who are insulin-dependent and who would benefit from technical devices to monitor their condition, will have those devices fully funded. Previously, the charity was funding those devices at a cost of up to £800 for a glucose monitor or £4,500 for insulin pumps a year.

The devices will either be funded through Social Security and available from local pharmacies or obtained through the Diabetes Centre. In every case, they will provided only if criteria are met and they would provide a better way of managing an individual’s condition. 

In addition, the funding means an additional consultant, specialist nurses, dieticians and podiatry staff will be recruited, while specialist psychologist help will be provided to adults and particularly young people living with the condition. Providing support to young people living with diabetes was one of the key goals for the charity. 

Pictured: The charity is now hoping it will be able to recruit a dietician to raise awareness of diabetes within the community.

Having been released of the necessity to raise funds for the services, Mr O’Brien says the charity will now be able to turn its focus back to awareness.

“We are researching the potential of providing on a more permanent basis a health professional, likely to be a dietician, to work on a proactive basis within the community to support those on a cusp of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and more generally to provide awareness of the condition to the wider community,” the chairman said. 

“You cannot prevent Type 1 diabetes but we want to extend our work in raising awareness of Type 2 diabetes and use the services of a professional to provide that awareness as a preventative measure."