The diabetes team at Leeds Children’s Hospital provide treatment and support for nearly 500 youngsters every year from Leeds and across Yorkshire who are coping with this lifelong condition.
During National Diabetes Week (14-20 June) they were working actively to highlight the importance of identifying the condition so that children and young people with symptoms can get the help they need.
Based at St James’s University Hospital, the team consists of three consultants, nine nurses, two dietitians and two psychologists a Youth Worker and a Play Worker. Their principal aim is to provide the support and care needed to enable young people and their families to manage the condition and ensure it has as little impact as possible on their life. Less than 0.5% of young patients are in hospital at any one time, and the team work hard to avoid hospital admissions and keep youngsters well and at home.
Wendy Sewell, Children’s Diabetes Nurse Specialist at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said. “We look after children and young people with diabetes from birth to the age of 19 years and our aim is to ensure that they have the best possible outcomes and that they (with the help of their families) feel confident enough to self-manage their condition.
“A diagnosis of diabetes often comes as a shock to children, young people and families alike. We help them to come to terms with what the condition means and the treatment required as well as the checks they have to do on a daily basis to ensure the condition is under control. On top of the normal challenges of growing up these can be difficult, and the support we offer is tailored around individual needs. Our aim is to develop a positive therapeutic relationship and be there when needed.
“We often say we are like the coaching team an athlete needs to ensure they put in the best performance. Different members of the team each have a role from time to time in supporting, motivating, counselling and treating the young person to ensure they are in the best physical shape and can fulfil their potential. Each child and young person with diabetes lives with this condition 8,760 hours a year and we want to make all those hours as stress-free and healthy as possible.”
Most children and young people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and the team in Leeds are encouraging all parents, carers, school personnel, GP’s etc to be aware of the most common symptoms, summarised as the 4 Ts:
Toilet
Going to the toilet a lot, bed wetting by a previously dry child or heavier nappies in babies
Thirsty
Being really thirsty and not being able to quench the thirst
Tired
Feeling more tired than usual
Thinner
Losing weight or looking thinner than usual
Parents of a child who has some or all of these symptoms should go to their GP to be assessed as a test for diabetes is simple to do.
A local family whose child was recently diagnosed with diabetes said of the Leeds Children’s Hospital team: “We think you and the rest of the diabetes team are wonderful and couldn’t have asked for a better experience, in what (particularly at first) was a very stressful time.
“We have really appreciated the amount of time you have given Tom, particularly in helping to explain everything he needed to do, regularly checking of his readings and advising what he can do to help improve them, and recently helping choose a pump and how to use it. All in all five star treatment that was invaluable. We couldn’t have asked for more.”
