Diabetes at work

[Maisie1998]

Okay so. I just want to post this for people’s opinions.

Recently I’ve been approached by some supervisors at work who have told me that a member of staff has approached them and said that me doing my injections for my type 1 in front of them in the staff room makes them feel uncomfortable. I am sitting down when I do these injections and I pull the slightest part of my shirt up to inject in my stomach. My supervisors suggested that I cover myself up or go to do the injection in the staff toilet when staff are in the room. Most of the time when I do these injections i am on my break so I have the right to be in there and i do not parade my injections around in front of people.

I feel like I am being discriminated against because I am not forcing the member of staff who made the complaint to watch me inject and I don’t see why I should be hiding my diabetes away like it’s shameful. How do you guys feel about this?

 

[archersuz]

Hi @Maisie1998
I don't think you should be made to feel uncomfortable about injecting in the staff room and you certainly shouldn't have to go to the staff toilet to do it! I can understand that some people may not like to see you injecting but they should look away! Maybe you could compromise by putting a scarf or similar loosely over your shirt and stomach? I used to drape a shawl over myself and baby when breast feeding.

 

[Jenny40]

Hi Maisie,
I am new to Diabetes and am also a Type 1, only found out in July of last year and I am 39yrs old, so was a shock.

I am lucky to have a work force that understand that I need to inject to keep me safe and they are great with it. You should never feel that you have to hide it away, it is a part of you and something that you cannot change.
To ask you to use a toilet to inject, however clean it is, is wrong. They would not expect to be asked to use the toilet to eat in as you don't like the smell of their food, so why should they expect you to hide away.
Do your work force understand that if you do not inject you could become seriously ill and injecting in a toilet has many many health warnings on it's own.
I have injected in a toilet once, it was one of the first times that I was on my own and felt that I should hide away, I was wrong, it was a horrible experience and not one that I repeated, I just thought, what the hell if people don't like what they are seeing then they can turn away, it only takes a few seconds.
Maybe they just don't understand what we have have to go through everyday to keep us going.

This may not help in any way but I just wanted to let you know that you are doing an amazing job and should never feel ashamed.
I hope that your boss does the right thing and sorts out an area for you that is not a toilet to inject if they really do feel that you should do it away from everyone else.
Take care and keep smiling!
Jenny x

 

[Bluetit1802]

I would certainly be unhappy about the suggestion to use the toilets. Not exactly the most hygienic of places.

If I were you I would speak to your HR people to see what they say. You are definitely being discriminated against.

 

[Emily95]

Legally, if they object to you injecting in the staff room they have to provide a clean, safe room for you to inject in that isn’t a toilet or bathroom. At a type 1 you are covered by the 2010 Equality Act. They are breaking the law by not providing you a room.

 

[NaijaChick]

Hello, I used to work for occupational health and have a nursing background. Do not under an circumstances ever inject or do any testing in the toilets. Your diabetes is nothing to be ashamed of and you don’t need to put a towel/shawl over you to do it either. By law, your work place must recognise your condition and provide adequate support to enable you to feel included. If you have an occupational health department then get referred ASAP. If you feel like it’s going to be an issue then start emailing and stop communicating verbally. Good luck

 

[wiflib]

I would take a more direct approach which would scare the becheeses out of them and get me banned on here.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Here's the good oil regarding this:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-jobs-faqs.html

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-discrimination.html

 

[Maisie1998]

Thank you all for your responses. It just seems like it’s such a little thing to cause a fuss about regarding discrimination. The staff room is the only room I can inject in other than their suggestion of the toilet. I don’t know whether I’m supposed to speak up about this or just leave it as it is. I haven’t gone into the toilet to do an injection, I have stayed in the staff room but since Monday when I was told about the issue I haven’t had to inject in front of anyone

 

[miszu]

Do not inject in the toilet... Bah, what an idea. Why dont ur colleagues spend their breaks minding their own business? I used to cover myself with my jacket or something to avoid situations like urs now, but it was so uncomfortable to do and took more time for me to inject with the cover on as it was difficult to properly do it. Now I just turn away, inject and eat. And if anyones complaining, I did my best to show as little of it as possible, they watching me or standing close by to see my stomach after me turning away is just nothing I can change on my own. Ignorant people are a thing, but these just look at me as Im some animal I feel so. Inject in the toilet... what bullsh.

ps. sorry for rant, just know ur on the right. it is something we need for our health, if they dont get it then shame on them!

 

[NaijaChick]

I’m going to say this. Discrimination is discrimination.

 

[Emile_the_rat]

I’m shocked to hear that grown up people can behave like that. They seriously need a reality check if they have problems to see a diabetic inject insulin. They should be ashame, any people with the smallest common sense would accept that a diabetic takes insulin injections.

We are in 2018, and diabetes is not something that should be hide away or shamed. This is discrimination, and these people really own you an apologize.

 

[Circuspony]

Are you in the UK? If so, your employers have to make suitable adjustments for you because you are covered by the discrimination act. The toilet is not a suitable place, so ask them politely to put a room aside - they'll probably then decide the staff room is OK after all!

Perhaps a poster from Diabetes UK stuck up on the wall of the staff room might help with educating people........

 

[jaywak]

Do you not find that some people just love to Whinge about everything? I bet they haven't got any friends!

 

[SugarCyborg]

What an absolutely outrageous request! This is something you have a quiet word with hr about, reminding them about their responsibility to protect you against this kind of discrimination. No one with a heart condition would be asked to pop pills in a toilet, nor an asthmatic take their inhaler behind a scarf. Ridiculous.

 

[rover44]

Okay so. I just want to post this for people’s opinions.

Recently I’ve been approached by some supervisors at work who have told me that a member of staff has approached them and said that me doing my injections for my type 1 in front of them in the staff room makes them feel uncomfortable. I am sitting down when I do these injections and I pull the slightest part of my shirt up to inject in my stomach. My supervisors suggested that I cover myself up or go to do the injection in the staff toilet when staff are in the room. Most of the time when I do these injections i am on my break so I have the right to be in there and i do not parade my injections around in front of people.

I feel like I am being discriminated against because I am not forcing the member of staff who made the complaint to watch me inject and I don’t see why I should be hiding my diabetes away like it’s shameful. How do you guys feel about this?

I have recently gone onto a basal bolus regime and had lunch the other day with my daughter in Morrison's cafe I did a blood sugar and injection at the table, nobody even noticed, my wrinkly belly was probably more off putting than a flexipen. I bet that only one person complained.

 

[Tony337]

Find out who has complained and hit them with a wet Haddock.
This will give them something worthwhile to complain about and they may well get some perspective!

On a serious note its things like this make my blood boil.
After 43 years of injecting I'm older greyer and grumpier but not noticeably wiser and none of us should be having to think about these Herberts.
No-one can make you inject anywhere you don't want to.
I suspect there is a queue forming on this forum of people wanting to have a go with the Haddock........

Good luck and try to bite your tongue because believe you me I could not.

Tony

 

[Dark Horse]

You could tell your supervisors that injecting in the toilet is quite out of the question but if the member of staff concerned has some kind of phobia, they should make themselves known to you as you are quite happy to warn them when you are about to inject so that they can look away.