Click here for one patient's story.

Our general practitioners and diabetes nurses completed 870 annual diabetes reviews this year, 110 more than last year, latest Pinnacle figures show. 

Pinnacle Group Limited released its figures for Turanganui Primary Health Organisation last month, and says it’s performing “reasonably”.

“Turanganui PHO appears to be performing reasonably well with close to 70% of those coded, checked.”

Figures show the number of patients checked has gone up by 14.5% from 2007 to 2009 with 686 checked in 2006/07, 760 in 2007/08 and 870 in 2008/09.

Turanganui PHO Chief Executive Keriana Brooking is pleased with the results, but cautious too. 

She says the 870 target set by Turanganui PHO was probably lower than it should have been and next year the goal posts will move. The target for the 2009/10 financial year will be 1123. 

“Over the past few years we have gone from too high targets set by Tairawhiti District Health that we never ever achieved, to no target at all. So we set our own for 08/09 and it was probably too low.”

Achieving next year’s Diabetes Annual Review target will be challenging but there were already things in place to help. There will be a five day diabetes training course for nurses in Gisborne in December “and that means we will have increased skills and knowledge in the workforce, more nurses available, and therefore the workload can be shared.”

The Diabetes Get Checked Programme is in its ninth year and is an important tool for looking after patients with diabetes. It doesn’t aim to identify patients with previously undiagnosed diabetes, it focuses instead on constraining disease progression in already diagnosed diabetics. 

The programme entitles people who have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes to a free annual health check from a GP or specially trained diabetes nurse. 

Keriana says the Pinnacle report confirms that even despite a small decline in Turanganui PHO’s enrolled population “the number of patients being identified, recalled and reviewed across the PHO is increasing”.

Keriana acknowledged the work of dedicated practice nurses and administration staff over the past year to achieve that. Support and backup for some practice nurses from HealthRight Manager Diane Williams had also been a contributing factor for the good numbers of patients reviewed. 

Click here to read the full report Annual Report 2008-09 Diabetes Get Checked Turanganui PHO September 2009.

Before this year, diabetes annual reviews were a long way down the list of priorities for Kaiti Medical Centre and Turanga Health patient Fiona Ratapu-Rodden (Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Rongomai Wahine).

She was slack at managing her diabetes and simply ignored her general practice invite letters to attend. 

“There’s a history of diabetes in my background but I never took my own diabetes seriously. I didn’t like the idea of having to deal with it.”

How quickly that changed when one day this year Fiona found herself having a heart attack and all the while her blood glucose level was raging out of control. 

“I could have died that Saturday” says Fiona, who works at Age Concern and is a Minister with Arise Shine Community Church.

After time in Gisborne and Waikato hospitals, Fiona is more committed to looking after herself. She accepts check-ups offered by her GP and visits Turanga Health’s Disease State Management Nurse. 

She has been surprised how “connected” the health organisations that look after her have been: Kaiti Medical Centre, Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti, Tairawhiti District Health, Turanga Health, and Turanganui Primary Health Organisation.

“Everyone is on board helping me. I’m getting my checks, looking after my fitness, my bloods are being done.”

Fiona says she is pleased the diabetes annual review checks continue to be offered, and thanks staff involved in her own health management.