You don't need to do an education course to get access to technology...

Wish I knew this four years ago.

Thanks for posting that. I read a lot about 'having' to go on a course to be eligible for a libre etc, but when I went on my course they made a point of saying you do not have to go on one to be eligible for anything. It's a personal choice of course but going on the course in my case really helped in many ways. They talk to you on a one to one basis and help word the criteria if you fit it. The ladies who did my course were part of my local Diabetes clinic (hospital) and they were very much a 'WE tell the Consultant who's getting a libre et al, and he does what he's told'.

There are only 20% of people qualify for funding for Libres. With such high demand, it's better to insist on training to make sure the person is using the equipment properly and to full advantage, or the funding is wasted. Diabetes management is difficult for type 1's, my GP just admits it's out of her sphere, so I only deal with a specialist. Courses and information are empowering and life-changing. After DAFNE I was able to get my HbA1c into the normal range at 5.3%.

NICE is big on training: 1.3.5 Explain to adults with type 1 diabetes that structured education is an integral part of diabetes care. [2015]
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng17/chapter/Recommendations

I've got the technology but I haven't had the education and I really wish I had.

tim2000s said:

If you want training on Libre take a look at: https://abcd.care/dtn-education/flash-glucose-monitoring

This is a curriculum that everyone being given Libre should be encouraged to look at and undertake.

As far as DAFNE goes, it doesn't, in its regular form, cover either pumping or Libre, so it doesn't help in using either of them specifically. It's more a case of comprehension and applying another bit of learning over what you might have with the tech.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the problem I'm having with getting on a DAFNE course, at my previous clinic the nurse who did the pump DAFNE had retired and not been replaced and they said it would be "too confusing" for a pump user to do the normal DAFNE. I changed clinics and then the pandemic hit, so whilst a remote DAFNE has been developed, a pump one hasn't, so I have to wait until it's safe to do it in-person
Thank you for the link, I'll have a look at that

Yeah, I also flagged up to my old Health Board that it seems a bit backwards to make normal DAFNE a requirement to getting a pump, as a lot of the advice on normal DAFNE doesn't apply to Pump Users hence there being a whole DAFNE course specifically for Pump Users. Furthermore, in that Health Board, their ability to provide DAFNE was so limited it took 3 years just to get on the course.

all I was asked todo for my pump a a Bertie online course which covered the basics of carb counting... done online in about 30 minutes and no waiting so it wasn't a barrier