Scardoc -a gentle word of advice. Stop your self-congratulatory blustering for a moment and start reading about other people's grievances with an open mind. There are many people on this forum who have shown extraordinary levels of effort and determination and personal responsibility and yet have had to put up with appallingly bad advice and often hostility from HCPs, and literally bear the scars. It is splendid that you have achieved what you have -- spread the good word, encourage and advise others, but don't throw around words like 'nonsense' and 'negativity' when you don't have the slightest idea of what others have gone through.
Ok, you need to look at the section I quoted and consider the use of "nonsense" and "negativity" within that context. There's a wider discussion from the OP on the DAFNE course and what I originally posted about and came back to was personal responsibility. I expressed my views and my experience on the benefits of personal responsibility. That does not make me narrow minded or ignorant of what others have gone through.
I believe Unbeliever's (say that fast!) comments regarding the information and courses being "geared at those with the worst control" and "based on very low expectations" to be negative and nonsensical. I believe, across the entire UK, that the poor level of control amongst T1 diabetics is not down to the failings of NHS. It is largely down to the lack of personal responsibility. Now, disclaimer time, there are exceptions, of course there are, there are people who, through no fault of their own, are suffering and are suffering badly. But I believe they are vastly outnumbered by those who don't care.
If you want to take it to nth degree then you can look at social, economic and political factors and reduce the number who don't care and increase the number who are being failed. There's always that argument and it doesn't just apply to diabetes, it applies to benefits and obesity, amongst other contentious issues. Whichever issue you look at, the time and resources required to improve the failings in the system are not there - largely thanks to the people who, like in Smidges OP, go to a DAFNE course and take jam doughnuts.
Take a look at this forum. This is what virtually everyone in the country has access to these days. How many people have succeeded in gaining control over their diabetes on this forum and others like it? How many, who have been failed by the system, have learned what they haven't been taught elsewhere right here? How many people are using what they learn here to challenge others and effect change? This forum is a beacon for personal responsibility because we all signed up. No one held a gun to our heads.
For that reason we should all be full of self-congratulatory bluster.