News

• Newsletter for July/August 2010 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for May/June 2010 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for March/April 2010 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for Jan/Feb 2010 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for Nov/Dec 2009 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for Sept/Oct 2009 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for July 2009 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for May 2009 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for March 2009 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for February 2009 available to read and print in PDF

• The AGM was held on Thursday 4th Feb  2010 at the Community Centre in Stoke Mandeville. The Chairman (Ken Parker) reported that we had made reasonable efforts with fundraising last year in spite of the falling number of members. Over £1500 had been raised from the sponsored walk, £1767 from collections, and £450 had been received from the Rotary Club. He thanked the committee for their work and support through the year and flowers were presented to Diana Robbins who was stepping down from the committee. The treasurer (Chris Arnold)  then gave his report, stating that whilst we had managed to donate £11,000 to projects at Diabetes UK (£1000 more than the previous year) our current level of income is lower than last year. The Secretary  (David Robbins) then reported on some of the activities that  we had attended. These included an Awareness day at the Multi-Cultural Centre, a health fair at a firm in Beaconsfield, the Charity stall in  Aylesbury, the Wendover Charity Fair, the barbeque, and Diabetes Week in Aylesbury as well as some small local fetes and fairs in the summer, He also reported that Diabetes UK had announced that their income was also down by 10% and that they were having to make job cuts at all of their regional offices and at Head Office.

  The election of the new committee was then followed by the President’s Report. Dr Gardner reported that the floor of the Mandeville wing at the hospital had now been corrected to the best of his knowledge. Stoke Mandeville Hospital now has its own dialysis unit  and that A & E was being upgraded. He said that we faced a difficult future because of financial circumstances where budgets had remained the same but activity had increased by 5%. Some clinics in Amersham hospital had had to be closed or relocated.

  There being no other business the meeting was closed  and we were then given an interesting talk by Thomas Whitelock from LifeScan. He gave us information about how a blood monitor works and stressed that it is the strips which are the most important part of the equipment. Once you have removed a strip the top of the pot should always be reclosed as quickly as possible as the chemical present on the strips can be oxidised by the air.  He also reminded us that strips should be discarded after 6 months if they had not been used as the accuracy of their readings after that date would be questionable. He pointed out that most monitors can be obtained free of charge from the companies and that the more up to date ones need less than 1unit of blood and give the result in 5 seconds. If your current meter does not work as quickly as this it might be worth ringing the care line of you current meter company to see if they will upgrade your meter. He stated that in most of the meter companies had care lines that are under used  and most would be able to supply you with a meter that met your current needs.

   

• In October 2009 we had a very interesting and informative talk by Claire Guest about the formation and work of a fairly new charity Cancer and Bio- Detection Dogs. Claire and her team have developed their work with dogs training them to sniff out the odour of bowel cancer in urine and are now working with other dogs and puppies training them to identify and alert their owners to hypoglycaemia. This can give the owners the courage and confidence to lead normal independent lives. They are always looking for sponsors for their puppies as well as socialisers to look after the puppies for the first year.  You can telephone them on 01296 655888 or follow the link to their website. www.cancerdogs.org.uk

• Early in 2008 we enjoyed an interesting talk on Diabetes and Food by Karen Oriss, a dietician based at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. This took the form of a quiz, with surprising answers to some questions. Karen explained some of the myths about food and diabetes and helped us to understand our diets a little better. It was good to see some new faces at the meeting and a better turnout than we have had at recent meetings. The information that she gave us is of relevance to all people with diabetes so we have made it available here . more>>>

• We are pleased to announce that Sister Mary Harding has agreed to become the new Vice President of the Aylesbury and District branch of Diabetes UK. She will be well known to many of you as she is a senior diabetic nurse at the Diabetic Education and Treatment Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. We look forward to welcoming her at our meetings (work permitting) and thank her for taking up this post.

• Our chairman, Ken Parker, making a presentation to Dr. Raymond Brown on his retirement as Vice President of the Aylesbury and District Branch of Diabetes UK. We would like to thank Dr Brown for his work for us and wish him a long and happy retirement.

 

 

Links to previous newsletters...

• Newsletter for December 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for November 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for October 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for August 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for July 2008 available to read and print in PDF

• Newsletter for May 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for April 2008 available to read and print in PDF
• Newsletter for March 2008 available to read and print in PDF

The information presented on this site is for general use only and is not intended to provide personal medical advice or substitute for the advice of your physician. If you have questions or concerns about individual health matters or the management of your diabetes, please consult your diabetes care team. Products highlighted on this website are not necessarily endorsed by Diabetes UK.