- Messages
- 3,971
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi @jraakNice works @NicoleC1971 ..and you too @Listlad
now while i am not disparaging your attempts
i do find it jarring that every things seems to swing around FB these days
.(did like your whats-app walking group..excellent stuff)
personally do not trust it, nor wish to be on it. (Cambridge analytica, anyone )
most possibly the minority, TBH..put hey ho.
My surgery posts up my tests score etc,
would it be too difficult for THEM to run such a forum without FB involvement.
maybe a fool but i would trust such a thing, and participate.
Most forums once set up and with moderation tend to run themselves...(almost)
Could easily see such a forum having a section for new ideas, links to others (Dr Unwin comes to mind)
and most probably given the need, doing what THIS forum does..but on a much smaller scale.
Now i think of it, i wonder if such a forum at surgery level, would simply, like in football, be a feeder group for the forum itself.
i see an individual, joining nervously, finding their feet pretty quickly, being encouraged and then joining in here as a full member, then dipping back into the surgery one to aid those new to it.
I guess the question is are we trying to reinvent the wheel, when this forum is already up and running, just needs surgeries to advice and advertise it better..?
I have been giving this all a lot of thought. Therational behind the Facebook version idea was for several reasons:
Facebook Group v Pre Timetabled Meets
As opposed to a scheduled meet which was being considered then all participants with internet access can participate. Holding scheduled meets were deemed to be difficult as patients have other commitments such as work etc and it was anticipated that many simply could not turn up, however they might well be able to get to Facebook at some point in their day or week.
No venue fees compared to a scheduled meet type arrangement. No venue to organise.
No issues arranging for the group organiser to be present who too might well have other commitments.
Facebook Group v Diabetes.co.uk
Yes and your point was also raised by my surgery administrator.
Of course we all agree that Diabetes.co.uk has been fantastic for helping us T2’s to reverse our diabetic symptoms. However it also has limitations. If say a GP simply says “here’s a very useful website and forum so go away and register and they will show you the way”, what then. That GP and the surgery have no record for that patient or data from that point on,except for future consultations or blood test results. The GP or the nurses ideally would want access to follow up data and by using Diabetes.co.uk that data is with Diabetes.co.uk and not necessarily retrievable especially where user names are in place. The GP and nurses would have no knowledge of what the patient has or had been doing, whether the patient succeeds with a LCHF programme or not.
The diabetes.co.uk forum freely states that it cannot diagnose. The relationship between diagnosis and diabetes reversal would surely be best served if the site, whichever form it takes, was driven by and in the hands of ones local surgery? As far as I know there is no advisory GP representation on the Diabetes.co.uk forum.
The Bay Medical Group Low Carb Group is affiliated to the Bay Medical Group surgery in the North West and has been given the thumbs up by the GPs there. It is administered by a lady who I believe is a member of the Diabetes.co.uk forum. It is a friendly forum. I cannot put my finger on exactly why but I can see how it might appeal to some in preference to this one. It is local for most members. In their case the members do meet up regularly and are known to each other by their real names. There is no real polarising of extremes that I detect. Yes, the Diabetes.co.uk site and forum is given credit, is quoted and recommended but the Facebook forum of the BMG is tied to the BMG surgery first and foremost.
My surgery does not have a Low Carb or T2 meet, nor a drop in type session, nor a Facebook Group or any other group. It does have a Diabetes.co.uk poster on the wall of the surgery but how many patients have joined because of it is not possible to gauge. A Facebook Group run by the surgery would have a better fix on numbers and who is participating. Finally such a group is private in the sense that only members can read the various posts.
To my mind the role that Diabetes.co.uk is performing should be performed by our respective GP surgerys.
But yes, I agree, many may still be left behind. Perhaps ultimately for those patients, a fixed time and date for a meet with someone like @Debandez might be a better bet.