I've never seen or heard of a Mobile Diabetes Testing Unit, I don't know if they exist or not. And I'd love to hear from anyone who has seen them or used them or any other form of Outreach Diabetes Screening.
We have a Mobile Cancer Screening Unit permanently parked in a car park in my local shopping centre and I've seen Mobile Prostate Cancer Units too, so why, if Diabetes is so damaging if left undetected, are we not seeing Mobile Diabetes Testing Units also?
I'm definitely not a doomer and gloomer where diabetes is concerned but I am a realist and I'm also angry that I can read on the DiabetesUK website that there are 850,000 undiagnosed diabetics and also that I was one of them until recently.
I want to know WHY they're undiagnosed. I want to know HOW the medical powers that be can KNOW how many undiagnosed diabetics are out there and if they KNOW how many there are - WHY AREN'T THEY SETTING UP MOBILE UNITS IN PROMINENT PLACES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN POP IN AND HAVE A TEST DONE. WHY CAN'T OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PEOPLE IN THE WORKPLACE PUBLICISING AND ARRANGING FOR TESTS TO BE DONE FOR EMPLOYEES?
If undetected diabetes is such a problem for the NHS finances, then why the hell don't they get their finger out and DO something about it instead of just publishing figures? I know Pharmacists now offer blood tests but if you're not one for regularly popping into your local Pharmacy you're unlikely to know about it. I know I've walked around ASDA for the past 5 years or so and didn't know until recently that their Pharmacy offers blood testing. Why aren't we getting TV adverts about the importance of blood testing, in the same way we get adverts for MacMillan Nurses etc?
I know there's a fasting element to the test but surely if someone sees a Mobile Diabetes Testing Unit and pops in, they can be given the instruction to come back tomorrow before breakfast.
Are some medical conditions considered 'more worthy' of detection than others? Have some medical conditions become 'more popular' in terms of fundraising than others.
I might be ranting on here about something that already exists, if so, apologies for that.
Finally, I have a 70 year old friend who is more fit and active than I am, he is NOT diabetic but has always kept to a strict diabetic diet and exercise regime. When I say 'strict' I don't mean he's obsessive, he loves his chocolate but in moderation, but he is very careful about what he eats and he walks to the supermarket and back every morning and he also runs a small business which keeps him fairly active. The reason he takes care is because his father who was NOT overweight, who WAS fit and active and did very heavy manual labour all his life, was diagnosed with T2DM in his late 70's but who knows how long he'd had it before diagnosis? And once diagnosed he was put on oral meds and went on to live until he was 94.
We have a Mobile Cancer Screening Unit permanently parked in a car park in my local shopping centre and I've seen Mobile Prostate Cancer Units too, so why, if Diabetes is so damaging if left undetected, are we not seeing Mobile Diabetes Testing Units also?
I'm definitely not a doomer and gloomer where diabetes is concerned but I am a realist and I'm also angry that I can read on the DiabetesUK website that there are 850,000 undiagnosed diabetics and also that I was one of them until recently.
I want to know WHY they're undiagnosed. I want to know HOW the medical powers that be can KNOW how many undiagnosed diabetics are out there and if they KNOW how many there are - WHY AREN'T THEY SETTING UP MOBILE UNITS IN PROMINENT PLACES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN POP IN AND HAVE A TEST DONE. WHY CAN'T OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PEOPLE IN THE WORKPLACE PUBLICISING AND ARRANGING FOR TESTS TO BE DONE FOR EMPLOYEES?
If undetected diabetes is such a problem for the NHS finances, then why the hell don't they get their finger out and DO something about it instead of just publishing figures? I know Pharmacists now offer blood tests but if you're not one for regularly popping into your local Pharmacy you're unlikely to know about it. I know I've walked around ASDA for the past 5 years or so and didn't know until recently that their Pharmacy offers blood testing. Why aren't we getting TV adverts about the importance of blood testing, in the same way we get adverts for MacMillan Nurses etc?
I know there's a fasting element to the test but surely if someone sees a Mobile Diabetes Testing Unit and pops in, they can be given the instruction to come back tomorrow before breakfast.
Are some medical conditions considered 'more worthy' of detection than others? Have some medical conditions become 'more popular' in terms of fundraising than others.
I might be ranting on here about something that already exists, if so, apologies for that.
Finally, I have a 70 year old friend who is more fit and active than I am, he is NOT diabetic but has always kept to a strict diabetic diet and exercise regime. When I say 'strict' I don't mean he's obsessive, he loves his chocolate but in moderation, but he is very careful about what he eats and he walks to the supermarket and back every morning and he also runs a small business which keeps him fairly active. The reason he takes care is because his father who was NOT overweight, who WAS fit and active and did very heavy manual labour all his life, was diagnosed with T2DM in his late 70's but who knows how long he'd had it before diagnosis? And once diagnosed he was put on oral meds and went on to live until he was 94.