New school program for type 1 diabetes support

There are around 6000 children throughout Australia with type 1 diabetes, a disease that requires constant vigilance and monitoring. Staying on top of management can be difficult for children to maintain, and their parents can often feel anxious about what will happen to them while they are at school.
 
To help combat this issue, the Federal Government this week announced its ‘Type 1 diabetes management in schools’ program (the program), which is designed to provide better support in a school setting.
 
The program will receive $6 million in funding and will be designed and delivered by Diabetes Australia, through the National Diabetes Services Scheme, with combined support from a number of key national health professional and consumer diabetes organisations.
 
It aims to promote awareness of type 1 diabetes symptoms and management in schools, one of the goals of the Australian National Diabetes Strategy, by providing education for teachers in the management of children who have the disease. This will include training in specifics such as administering insulin and recognising hypoglycaemia, as well as in broader concerns such as normalising diabetes management in schools.
 
According to Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, the program is complementary to the Federal Government’s Asthma in Schools program, announced earlier this year, and will help contribute to the overall wellbeing of children with diseases that need management.
 
‘[The program] is part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring children with chronic conditions are able to receive appropriate care, if they need it, at school,’ Minister Hunt said.

diabetes management Type 1 diabetes