Supporting patients and healthcare professionals

The principal aim of the Paula Carr Diabetes Trust is to support patients who are living with diabetes. This support is provided in many different ways.

For patients

A range of educational resources has been developed for patients to help them manage their diabetes from day to day. This includes a free patient information pack, designed for people who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes, which is available to all patients in the Kent and Medway area from your GP surgery.

Funding for special equipment, holidays for children and families organised by Diabetes UK and patient support groups is also provided by the Trust.

Requests for financial support for patients are usually referred to the Trust by the patient’s healthcare team (for example GP, diabetic specialist nurse, podiatrist or paediatric dietician).

For healthcare professionals

The Trust also funds the trial of new technologies that have the potential to improve patient care.

Read more about the projects the Paula Carr Diabetes Trust is involved in:

Local project to help patients manage their condition

Map my diabetes on iPad With so much information discussed during their regular diabetes check-ups, many patients find it a challenge to follow their care plan through. If only there was an easier way of keeping track of everything between appointments.

Thanks to funding provided by the Paula Carr Diabetes Trust, an innovative online solution has been trialled at a GP practice in the Ashford area.

Called Mapmydiabetes, the accredited online programme allows GPs, nurses and patients to share data and provides everything patients need to put theory into practice, from reminders, prompts and care plans, to diabetes recipes, cooking techniques and exercise plans.

The results from the trial have been encouraging. GPs and nurses at the practice have reported that a significant number of patients have embraced this new way of managing their care. As a result they are taking better control of their diabetes.

A review is now underway to assess the possibility of rolling out Mapmydiabetes to GP practices across Kent.

Helping Year 6 children in the transition to secondary school

Making the move from primary to secondary school can be an anxious time for many children. For 11 years olds with Type 1 diabetes it’s particularly challenging, as they move from a smaller, more nurturing environment to one where students are expected to look after themselves and gain their independence.

The Kent & Medway Diabetes Paediatric Group, working with the Paula Carr Diabetes Trust, have developed a structured education programme for Year 6 children to give them the skills and confidence to manage their diabetes in a secondary school environment.

Seven day-long transition courses were run for children and their parents during the summer of 2015. The events were a great success. Afterwards, one parent emailed to say:

“He really enjoyed the transition day. He did not stop talking about it for hours. It was his first event that he’s attended, and now wants to go to all future events as he felt so relaxed and comfortable discussing diabetes with other children. It is a huge step forward for him. Yesterday has made all of us very happy.”

The Paula Carr Diabetes Trust education team provided administrative support throughout the project and the Trust funded the book vouchers and goodie-bags for children attending the courses. The courses will be repeated in 2018.