Taranaki children with diabetes - pump it up

July 31, 2009

The Taranaki DHB Paediatric team pumps up local access to new technologies for children with diabetes.

The new technology is an insulin pump that supplies insulin under the skin and means no more repeated injections for children with Diabetes. Paediatrician Dr Yvonne Anderson says it has many benefits to the patient. “The insulin pumps are so small that patients can discretely wear them below their clothes, and enjoy unrestricted freedom of movement. This improves their quality of life, and eliminates up to 4-6 injections of insulin per day. “

Previously Taranaki children and their families had to travel to Auckland or Hamilton to be trained to use the pumps. “We are delighted to provide this technology locally, as it can improve clinical outcomes and saves families from having to travel long distances” she said.

In February, the Paediatric Diabetes team performed the first “pump start” in Taranaki. “We hope we can continue to provide pump starts for the children of Taranaki”, said Dr Anderson. “We are keen to provide this technology locally.”

The paediatric team is also delighted with another new initiative that has been made possible by generous support from Diabetes Youth Taranaki. “We now have a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS),” said Dr Anderson. “This device provides a child with diabetes and their family, readings of their blood glucose every 5 minutes over a 72 hour period. It allows us to analyse children’s blood glucose control in more detail without getting them to do finger-prick testing constantly. It has great benefit for those with poor blood sugar control, those who are unaware of when their blood sugars are too low, and those starting on an insulin pump,” she said.

“We are very grateful for the support from Diabetes Youth Taranaki.”
“At the end of the day, managing children’s diabetes is about maintaining quality of life, and balancing this with ensuring good blood glucose control to prevent long-term complications.”

Media: Photo opportunity on Tuesday August 4th at 1.30pm in Ward 2 with Michael Brimelow (10) wearing the glucose sensor.

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Last updated: Tuesday, November 12, 2013