My Diabetes My Way: January 2021 Update
Happy New Year and welcome to the My Diabetes My Way Newsletter for January 2021.
Diabetic Eye Screening is Changing
We have been asked by the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland to let you know about changes to diabetic eye screening. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee has recommended a change to how often people are invited for screening, based on their risk of sight loss.
This decision was made following scientific evidence which shows that those at low risk of sight loss can be safely screened every two years. Diabetic eye screening is an important part of your NHS diabetes care. It looks for a condition called diabetic retinopathy which, if left untreated, may cause blindness or serious damage to the eyesight.
For more information on this change and for further links to NHS Inform, please see our news page:
https://mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/ContentNews.aspx?id=1123
Planning for 2021
The New Year is an ideal time to consider personal goals to improve your life for the future. You may wish to improve your diabetes management (see online courses below) or maintain good control. My Diabetes My Way can help you achieve these goals. Studies have shown if individuals with diabetes maintain their blood glucose levels to target, the risk of diabetes complications is reduced.
1. Monitor blood glucose levels if you have been asked to by your diabetes team
2. Take your prescribed medication regularly
3. Regularly check your feet and choose suitable footwear
4. Maintain a healthy lifestyle with an appropriate balanced diet and as much regular exercise that your condition allows
5. Attend your diabetes review appointments and screening tests. These visits monitor your eyes, feet, HbA1c (overall diabetes control), kidney function, cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index.
All of your results can be accessed on My Diabetes My Way once you have registered to access your records.
Free Online Diabetes Courses
Free online courses are now available for people with Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational diabetes at https://elearning.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk. These courses are provided by MyWay Digital Health and have been developed in collaboration with the University of Dundee and the University of Edinburgh. To brush up on your diabetes self-management during COVID-19, register a username and password to get going.
Please note, this service is not connected to myaccount, so you will be asked to create a new account to access eLearning. Your myaccount details will work as normal to allow you to access your diabetes records. We will be joining up this process during the coming weeks, so please use the same email address for both accounts to make it easier for us to link them up in future.
My Diabetes My Way Admin
Due to the current situation with Coronavirus, it is taking us longer to collect mail, create new enrolment packs and send out registration paperwork for you to access your diabetes records. We are currently processing enrolment packs in batches every two weeks, but we are now happy for you to email us back a photo or scanned copy of your signed form to avoid any further delays.
Help and Support
If you have not yet managed to gain access to your diabetes records on My Diabetes My Way, or would like an update on the status of your registration, please let us know. You can contact us regarding any problems or request further help and support by emailing: mydiabetes.myway@nhs.scot
Thank you for your continued support.