Earlier this year the group helped Jenny MacKenzie, a research nurse with the Diabetic Eye Screening Unit at Gloucester Royal Hospital, with her research into diabetic eye screening in Gloucestershire.   Our help consisted of “test running” a questionnaire she had devised that would be completed by people when attending their eye screening appointments.  After the group had tested the questionnaire, some modifications were suggested to the layout and wording,   which Jenny was happy to incorporate.

Jenny has now completed her research and has forwarded a brief resume of the results, as follows: Continue reading Eye Screening Research Project →

As of today, August 1st 2014, the group shall now be know as Gloucester Diabetes UK Group. This change is being made due to a new Diabetes UK policy of bringing all the groups names into the same format. The new name also makes it much clearer on what the Group is all about. You may have noticed we have changed the logos and some of the text (such as on the home page). However the name will be staying the same on the web address and email addresses for the time beings as well as any old posts, apologies for any confusion this may cause.

Our name is changing – from the 1 August 2014 the Groups name will be changing to Gloucester Diabetes UK Group.  This change is being made due to a new Diabetes UK policy of bringing all the groups names into the same format.   The new name also makes it much clearer on what the Group is all about.

For the time being the website and email addresses will remain the same, but they may change in the future.

On Friday 14 March Mike Broome was invited to give a presentation to the staff of the Gloucestershire Diabetic Eye Screening Department on the role of the Glevum Voluntary Group at Gloucester Royal Hospital.

The Eye Screening Department were having a training day and Angela Dale, who organised the day, thought it a good idea if those who carry out the eye screening understood what the support groups got up to. Mike prepared a short presentation and explained the background to the support group, our connection to Diabetes UK and the various ways we provide non medical support for those with diabetes and how we help with fund raising, both for local needs and nationally for Diabetes UK.

It was a worthwhile exercise as some of the eye screening team had no idea about the support group or what it did, which hopefully now they do and will be able to mention us to patients when carrying out individual eye screening checks.

Mike would like to thank Angela for giving him the opportunity to “spread the word”

Recently the Group Committee agreed to donated £250 to an appeal in aid of sending a local nine year old girl on the trip of a lifetime. Tegan Rendell although only nine, has faced more illness & struggles in the last couple of years than most of us get in a lifetime.

Tegan was diagnosed with type one diabetes just after her eighth birthday in April 2012, she was also found to have coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition that makes the body mistakenly attack itself and has left her with almost no lining in her intestines. She also suffers regular epileptic fits, up to 20 a day, and the day after her ninth birthday last year, she was diagnosed with eosinophilic oesophagitis, an inflammatory condition of the wind pipe and finally, last month (December 2013) she was found to have a brain tumour. Continue reading Tegans Dream →

Diabetes UK has announced that so far the Big Collection Weekend has raised £370,687 country wide, with money still coming in.  Well done to all the collectors around the UK, but in particular to those who collected for the Group at the St Oswald’s store in Gloucester for their contribution.

As part of its charity partnership with Tesco’s for this year, Diabetes UK had arranged for collections to take place in Tesco’s stores throughout the UK. It was decided that the Group would participate in the collection, and Mike Broome volunteered as the Team Leader to collect at the St Oswald’s store in Gloucester. Twelve group members volunteered, as well as seven volunteers from the general public, as the event was publicised country wide by Diabetes UK. The collection took place from Friday 4 Oct to Sunday 6 Oct, with three shifts of 3 hours on Friday & Saturday and two shifts on Sunday (early closing), with three people per shift. Continue reading Diabetes UK Big Collection Weekend →