We welcomed Nadine Rash, Stakeholder & Quality Assurance Manager, East Anglia Diabetic Eye Screening Programme to the meeting.
Nadine described the service, and told us that they have caught up with all of the appointments delayed due to the pandemic.
Retinopathy will continue at Vision Park, Histon for the foreseeable future. Coverage of East Anglia is extensive, and is being supplemented by a mobile service in a converted ambulance.
You can download a copy of Nadine’s presentation below:
That’s all folks!
Mike Willis, group facilitator then announced that unfortunately he is unable to continue due to declining health (not diabetes related!). If anyone is interested in continuing facilitating the group he is very happy to help with a handover. The group could continue as present with speakers followed by a discussion, or operate just as a peer support and discussion group.
Since the group started in September 2018 we have held 40 meetings, the majority with a speaker from primary care services or research. Half of the meetings were face to face prior to the pandemic, the rest via Zoom.
We’ve had 67 villagers attend at least one meeting, of which 28 have been to between 3 and 9 meetings, 14 between 10 and 19 meetings, and 9 have been to 20 or more – over half the meetings!
The average attendance at face to face meetings was 15, the largest of which was 29! No surprise that Zoom meetings have been smaller, but not by much with an average of 12 and the largest 20.
But the most important statistic is how many have managed to get to remission from Type 2 diabetes, or improved their condition. Together the group has inspired and supported each other to follow local medical advice to better manage their condition. In addition the expert speakers from Firs House Surgery, Cambridgeshire Clinical Commissioning Group, East Anglia Diabetic Retinopathy Services, ToeTal Footcare, MRC Cambridge, many University Research Departments and Diabetes UK have increased our understanding of this chronic condition.
Thanks to all of our speakers who gave their time for us, but particularly all who attended meetings and made the group such a success.