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Mobile Diabetes Testing Unit?

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GraceK

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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.
 
Is it UNDETECTED diabetes that causes a problem for the NHS finances or DETECTED diabetes?

Doe the cost of TREATMENT outweigh the cost of POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS?

Maybe they don't want lots more of us on the books, asking them for expensive BG testing strips?

The treatment regime they suggest doesn't do much good for the majority of T2 diabetics anyway, so even if they pay for (ineffective) treatment, it doesn't necessarily reduce the cost of complications.
 
The simple truth is that many people that may have diabetes get no symptoms till it is well advanced, couple that with many peoples reluctance to even see a doctor and there you haver the answer.

As for mobile diabetes screening most chemists offer finger prick testing and advice, but again most either dont know or are scared to find out.
 
These are the NICE Guidelines and Recommendations for preventing Type2.
Population and community level interventions in high risk groups and the general population.

http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/1 ... /54345.pdf

DUK do a roadshow throught England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Roadshow/

Lloyds chemist, and others) offer free testing

.http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/info/diabetes

There are many diagnosed Type2s who did not feel ill prior to diagnosis and others had symptoms were not enough to cause concern. Very often Type2 is picked up by blood tests for other health problems and there are many people who do not want to know. Not everyone is proactive with their health.
 
we have a diabetes awareness morning twice a year where people can come in and have their bp chacked and blood sugar checked it is on a saturday in the middle of the town so we do have a good responce.If either result is high we tell them to see their gp and write the results we have found out for them.We also have a mobile eye screening unit which comes to our docters surgery.
 


I think it's BOTH. Perhaps the underlying cause of many strokes and heart attacks is diabetes in some people. If the diabetes was detected, a couple of Metformin SR a day is a lot cheaper than several stays in hospital and rehabilitation afterwards. But not just that - this is NOT all about the NHS it's about THE PATIENT. And somewhere along the line OUR NEEDS are definitely overlooked. When someone has a stroke or a heart attack their whole life changes, they may not just lose their health but their income and the family also suffers. So it's not just the NHS who needs to care about early detection because it needs to save money, the NHS needs to care about the IMPACT on the patient's life, and the lives of their families. That's where the focus should be of TRUE COST of any undetected illness.

They're even talking about offering gastric band barriatric surgery to diabetics because it's been shown to be effective not only for weight loss but for lowering blood sugar and it's cheaper than the approximate £15,000 a year they say it takes to treat each diabetic. Personally I don't think surgery is money well spent, I think regular blood tests FOR EVERYONE as a preventative measure should be standard practice - why wait for symptoms to show up when many health conditions have already begun to cause internal problems BEFORE any symptoms become noticable. And let's not forget that some people are better at 'putting up with' annoying symptoms and don't like 'complaining'. However, if it became STANDARD PRACTICE for our GP surgery to call every patient in once a year for blood tests, whether they're ill or not, I think we'd soon get used to that and realise the benefits of it and I think that would not only save the NHS money, it would save LIVES, save INCOMES and save FAMILIES.

And remember, diabetes is not 'OUR FAULT'.
 
From the link Catherine provided:

Healthy Lifestyle Roadshow

Following on from last year's fantastic achievements, during 2012 we will be bringing our Healthy Lifestyle Roadshow to 96 locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Attend a roadshow to:

Receive a free Type 2 diabetes risk assessment
Have a chat with our expert dieticians
Join in with our physical activity zone
Or come and pick up a free piece of fruit
We hope to risk assess about 15,000 people to determine their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, referring those at 'moderate' or 'high' risk to their GP for further tests. As well as providing general information about Type 2 diabetes, our roadshows provide important advice about how leading a healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk.

Thirty-five of this year's roadshows are funded by a £414,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund, and the remaining 60 roadshows have been funded by money raised from our Bupa Great Run Series partnership.

Our 2012 roadshow tour will run from April until November. Announcements of final dates and locations will be updated regularly, so please continue to check back to this page for further information



With the work that DUK do with their Roadshows and the free testing in Lloyd's Chemists people still need to step forward and be tested, I wonder how many people walk-by and think it will never happen to me?
 
The Media reporting is partly to blame for people not being aware. They have been brainwashed into thinking "I am not overweight, so I cant have type 2 diabetes"

they are not being informed that slim people get Diabetes too, so they think they are immune.

A bit like it used to be with passive smoke and lung cancer. It wasnt being picked up in non-smokers because of the way it was presented as a disease of smokers only.
 

Good point lucy ... that is sooooooooo true. I can look back 18 years and tell any doctor today when my diabetes began - I was slim, I was thirsty, I was peeing for England, I was physically, emotionally and psychologically EXHAUSTED - I'd just been through a divorce and I started an early menopause - so I was told I had 'a sensitive bladder, I was depressed, and it was 'the change'. Was I offered blood tests for diabetes? No I b****y wasn't!!! I was patronised. I just struggled on getting more and more exhausted and I had NO appetite whatsoever for several years and everything was put down to stress/depression/menopause.

I kept complaining that whatever I ate, I didn't seem to get any energy from, still no blood tests done. Only in 2009 when I suddenly developed asthma, chest pains, IBS and Meniere's Disease all in ONE month and then the following year I spent 10 months looking like elephant man because I developed gynae problems, angioedema and anaphylactic shock AND changed my GP, did things start to happen, because my previous GP was a waste of space.

And I have to say it was only my own peristence and a Locum's willingness to take me seriously that got me diagnosed eventually. I told her that I felt suicidal, which was true, and as if my body was shutting down organ by organ and that at 59 I shouldn't be feeling like a 90 year old!

We shouldn't have to get to desperation and screaming point but sometimes we have to. :crazy:
 
All pharmacies offer a simple finger prick test, but as others have pointed out, people have to take the initiative and go in and request that test. So many of us bury our heads in the sand when we suspect we have a problem, it is easier to ignore it than find out for sure, then have a whole bunch of issues to sort. I personally suspect I had diabetes for months before I was diagnosed, although there wasn't as much awareness 15 years ago, but I kept putting my symptoms down to other reasons, I was tired, but I worked and had a young family to care for, my vision was blurring, I hadn't had my eyes tested for several years, I needed to pee all the time but I was drinking a lot, it was warm so of course I was more thirsty, the list goes on. I was absolutely shocked with my diagnosis, but honestly if things hadn't reached a head, I probably would never have approached my Doctor. There is so much information out there, we can feel bombarded with it, and when you look at all the advice so freely available that we don't take, smoking for instance, I bet everyone knows a smoker, contraception advice, but we are still a world leader in unplanned pregnancies, 5 a day, take more exercise, lock your doors and windows, get a smoke alarm, there's so much stuff that I think people switch off, at the end of the day we are responsible for ourselves, we don't really need the NHS to fund another testing unit when those tests are freely available anyway.
 
I really did not know that I could have diabetes - it never occurred to me. As a (supposedly) intelligent woman I did not realise that, although I did not have the classic symptoms (thirst, weight loss), it could explain my exhaustion- apparantly neither did my doctor. Like others the menopause was blamed for so much and deeper investigations were not requested. To be honest I wouldn't have gone for testing if it was available in a supermarket because I did not realise it was a possibility. I agree that the testing would be useful in general but how do we make people realise that it is worthwhile if they do not think it is relevant?
 
I guess I was lucky. I had quite a few unexplained symptoms and my Practice Nurse got right on it and got me tested. She was looking for thyroid problems and then found I had diabetes. She did say to me that a lot of people get no symptoms.
 
Hi GraceK!

There are mobile testing units in some areas of the country. I saw a news article on a mobile diabetes unit that goes to various locations in Leicester. Basically, there is a high Asian population in Leicester and that part of the community are more prone to diabetes and less likely to visit hospitals/surgeries for testing, so they take the unit out into the community. Looked like a good idea, but I'm not sure if other areas of the country do the same.

Smidge
 

Hi Smidge (love the nic) ... it's great to know they exist but I'd love to see more of 'em about in other parts of the country. If undiagnosed diabetes is as prevalent as we're led to believe I think it's time they widened the net.
 
Here's what happened when people in the U.S. were given personal assessments of their risk for heart disease and diabetes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 104043.htm
The public perception of Type2 diabetes has been media fuelled to say that obesity and inactive lifestyles are the culprit and until that perception changes people will bury their heads in the sand. Whether we like it or not, there is a stigma attached to Type2. There is no mention of the 20% of normal weight people who develop Type2. It is also seen as a disease of the elderly which it was until a few years ago. You would be surprised how many people do not read newspapers or watch TV adverts about health. I often wonder if the answer is to post flyers through every house in the country explaining more about diabetes and it's symptoms and possible effects. The need for observation and symptoms with regard to meningitis in children got the message across so why not diabetes?

I was thinking that a flyer with an obese person and a slim person standing together, side by side and the question, "Who is at risk for Type2 diabetes? Answer, "Both as genetics also play a large part". It could also include symptoms and risks.
 

hat is a wonderful idea Catherinecherub. I don't think anyone anywhere could disagree with it and it is something that needs to be said. The policy of equating overweight and obesity with diabees has, I think , backfired. If people are not overweight they don't think hey are at risk. if they are overweight hey think that it is their own faukllt and ry to turn a blind eye to it. They think if they get their symptoms checked hey will just be told to lose weight. They might have already tried and found it difficult.
There is litle incentive for them to volunteer for a scolding anyhow - and if its caused by weight then they can always reverse it by losing weight at a more convenient time , can'1 they?

You could run that idea past DUK. if they have any shame they would adop it . They know - and always have known , that it is not only the overweight who are at risk bu only admit it in the very small print.
I firmly believe[as a slim T2] that diabetes is the cause of obesity and weigh t gain. Once anyone with a tendency towards diabetes starts to gain weight it is much more difficult for them to lose it than it is for others but they don't know that.

To me this suggesion would represent "ethical " publicity for diabetes awareness - something we don' often see.
 
All good points raised as usual. The flyers would be great in theory Catherine but I feel a large part of the problem is getting past the predjudices of the HCP's themselves. Of course there are understanding ones out there but we all know where the stereotypes of the fat and lazy type 2's originate from..it is usually medics, NOt the general public..after all, who puts the info out there in the first place but the NHS itself?

I'm sure pharmacies do test for diabetes but do they advertise these services in their windows etc? I can't remember seeing any. Maybe posters in the windows with a few of the warning signs such as thirst and excessive tiredness? I know many of us don't get symptoms but this might raise awareness.

I really hate to go back to the old argument but in the context of this discussion, I believe it is valid. When a diagnosis is obtained (as will probably be a more common outcome if more are tested), do we not go back to the same old, same old? Testing unnecessary/take the tablets/eat no sugar/eat plenty of "good" carbs/book an appt with our diabetes specialist in a week/fortnight/month etc?

Yes I know there are good HCP's out there. There are also many, far too many who hold the obesity=diabetes=self inflicted viewpoint. Whose only concern is that weight should be lost, and the slim type 2's aren't really in the equasion because they are rare.

I slightly despair at the thought of more people presenting with diagnosis because of the rising numbers of those who end up with complications at present. There seems to be this no-mans land twixt diagnosis and complications where a slippery path is followed time and time again and nobody seems to learn from the fact that this path obviously is not working because numbers are rising.

I had a good time at the DUK and NHS joint event earlier this year, it was good to know that our opinions on what could be im proved were being sought and I felt we were being listened to.
BUT - DUK needs to be prepared to speak up against what is wrong and I don't think they do that. To put out biscuits and fruit juice at an event is thick is stupid to put out plates of cakes is downright irresponsible. Reason being - people complain if they don't. No wonder the general public are confused, they are getting conflicting info (when they get any at all) from all over the place.

Sorry, they have got to take a stand like a non smoking event would do. It may seem a small thing in the great scheme but to me it speaks volumes about attitudes in general. All the roadshows in the world won't do it Nigel if this is the thinking behind them.

I try not to be negative, l really do and I know diagnoses are important but only if those diagnosed are getting proper advice and treatment from the get go.
 

Catherine you make some great points above ... and if the NHS LISTENED to patients they would discover that the majority of us had symptoms YEARS AGO when we were slim and for various reasons those symptoms were discounted or attributed to other things because we were considered NOT to be at risk of diabetes. Tiredness and exhaustion is often put down to stress, depression, childbirth, post natal depression, menopause - a whole host of other conditions and in my case I've been labelled as 'depressed' for most of my life and been given antidepressants before I was ever offered a blood glucose test. I felt like a total fraud, a moaning minnie and I became ashamed of myself because I had no energy. I called myself lazy, I wasted time researching depression and treatments because I believed the doctors were right, they must know what they're talking about. Now I know they actually DON'T. I was SLIM when my DIABETES symptoms occurred and they were IGNORED by my GP in favour of DEPRESSION. Over the years, because my food hasn't nourished my body cells, I've eaten MORE because that's what happens when our body isn't nourished, it sends constant signals to eat more, but if that insulin isn't doing its job, the food turns to fat not energy. But the body continues to hunger. So YES - diabetes CAUSES OBESITY NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND and I hope if I shout loud enough that someone in the NHS will hear meeeeeee))))))))))))))))))))))))).

I was in hospital recently for a gynae op and two other women and myself spoke VERY LOUDLY about our conditions and how we felt blamed because we are FAT. I tell ya, we gave our very vocal opinions in that ward knowing there were doctors and nurses within earshot. Also diabetes is NOT a disease of the elderly - it's just that BY THE TIME ITS DIAGNOSED MANY OF US ARE ELDERLY. That's another message that needs to be got across.

I think your idea about flyers is excellent. You should design one and present it to the NHS head of media.
 
I've seen a mobile unit in the supermarket car park but it's not NHS and you have to pay to have a test done. They test chol, sugars, bp, anaemia, etc - all tests you can ask your gp for for nowt. The way services to diabetics are being eroded and cut I'm sure the NHS don't consider it a priority to have more of us money sucking leeches treated. (Rant over) :thumbup:
 
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