For our August meeting we had a very interesting talk from Sandra Toth, a Diabetes Research Nurse from Gloucester Royal Hospital (GRH).

Sandra explained that the research at GRH is clinical research which is the study of new treatments involving humans, ranging from a new drug or vaccine to education and self management programmes.  Clinical trials and studies test whether particular treatments are safe and how well they work.

The studies can be of relative short duration or can go over several years.  They can also be part of international research programmes that can involve thousands of volunteers. Continue reading August 2015 Meeting – Sandra Toth – Diabetes Research Nurse →

For the June meeting we had an highly entertaining and informative talk by Sian Williams, a Pharmacist based in Cirencester.

Sian explained the training requirements to become a pharmacist , summed up as five years of very hard work!!  The training covers three main areas:  1. How medicines work, 2, How people work, 3 How the healthcare system works.  Whilst they do not sound too daunting, for how medicines work covers  therapeutics (how medicines are used)  pharmacology (the actions and uses of medicines and the effects that   medicines have on the human body)  pharmaceutical technology, including manufacturing and engineering  science)  formulation (how drugs and other materials are used together in dosage forms).

Continue reading June 2015 Meeting – Sian Williams – Pharmacist →

After the AGM, Anna Rarity from Healthwatch Gloucestershire gave a talk explaining what Healthwatch Gloucestershire is and what its aims are, briefly as follows:

Healthwatch Gloucestershire is the new consumer champion for health and social care in the county, giving children, young people and adults a powerful voice.

There are 148 local Healthwatch organisations nationally and they form the Healthwatch England network, working closely to make sure public and patient views are represented locally and nationally.

Continue reading February 2015 Meeting (Part 2) – Healthwatch Gloucestershire Talk →

The Groups  Annual General Meeting was held during the February Meeting, of which the minutes, including the Chair’s & Treasure’s reports, have been sent to all members.

Elections took place for the Group Committee.  Jo Kelly stood down from the Committee.  There were no new volunteers to join the committee.  The remaining existing Committee members put themselves up for re-election, and were accepted by a unanimous vote.   The Committee comprises of:

• Chair
  • Mike Broome
• Secretary
  • Mike Broome
• Treasurer
  • Bob Watford
• Vice Chair
  • Mike Coombs
• Members
  • Graham Terrett
  • Kevin Powell

For the December meeting we held our annual Christmas party, giving all members a chance to get together, share the Christmas spirit and have a bit of fun.  Also everyone attending brought a little something to eat and share thereby providing a very nice buffet for all.  It must have been tasty, as it was virtually all  eaten.

Norman Douse once again prepared the now traditional Christmas quiz and acted

as quiz master for the night.  It was a close fought affair this year, with the team comprising Pat Douse, Michelle Douse, Bob Watford and Graham Terret running out victors.  Each received a small bottle of wine for their efforts.

Continue reading December 2014 Meeting – Christmas Festivities →

For our October meeting we had Ted Beagles to give us an illustrated talk on the work of the   Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust, commonly referred to as the Hereford & Gloucester Canal Trust.  The canal originally ran 34 miles from Herford to Gloucester.

Ted explained that the Trust developed from the  Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Society which was formed in 1983 with the aim raising awareness of the Canal and preserving what structures remained with little thought of full restoration.  However, things took a great step forward in 1992 when the Society was reconstructed into the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust with the stated aim of complete restoration, with Trust becoming a registered charity. Continue reading October 2014 Meeting – Herfordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust →

This month we were treated to an excellent talk, by Siriol Wilson from the Gloucestershire Specialist Diabetes Service, on what we should be looking for in what we eat and how to identify the food that is good for us and what is not so good.

Those attending were split into two groups and then took part in two interactive tasks, one trying to work out how much sugar there is in various proprietary drinks, ranging from Diat Coke to Lucozade, no prizes for knowing which has most or least of those two!  To demonstrate how much sugar is in each group had to put lumps of sugar on each drinks picture to represent the sugar content.  It was good to see that in general the groups got it right. Continue reading August 2014 Meeting – Diabetes Dietitian →

For the June meeting of the Group we had a very interesting talk from Vanessa Jones from the Gloucestershire Retinal Screening Team based at Gloucester Royal Hospital. Whilst most present have had their eyes screened, some over quite a few years, the presentation was a timely reminder on the importance of the retinal screening program.

Vanessa explained the reasons and origins of the screening programme, which aims to ensure all those diagnosed with diabetes receive an annual eye scan. Also we learnt about the physiology of our eyes and most importantly the effects diabetes can have if not properly controlled and not having a regular retinal scan.

Continue reading June 2014 Meeting – Retinal Screening Presentation →

The Groups  Annual General Meeting was held during the April Meeting, of which the minutes, including the Chair’s & Treasure’s reports, have been sent to all members.

Elections took place for the Group Committee.  Campbell Boggon stood down as Treasurer and Mike Broome stood down as Chair.  Bob Watford volunteered to take over the Treasurer’s role and Jo Kelly volunteered to become a Committee member.  As there were no other candidates, and no objections to their nominations, they were voted on to the Committee. The other existing Committee members put themselves up for re-election, and again were accepted by a unanimous vote.  Although Mike B stood down as Chair, as no one has volunteered to take up the post, Mike has agreed to carry on for another year. Therefore the new Committee comprises of:

• Chair
  • Mike Broome
• Secretary
  • Mike Broome
• Treasurer
  • Bob Watford
• Vice Chair
  • Mike Coombs
• Members
  • Graham
  • Terrett
  • Kevin Powell
  • Jo Kelly

Continue reading April 2014 Meeting – Annual General Meeting & Diabetes Specialist Nurse Talk →