Debate contribution: Diabetes Care

Debate contribution by Miss Órlaithí Flynn on 28 April 2025.

MLA

Miss Órlaithí Flynn

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

28 April 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Diabetes Care

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4914162

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The examples that have been given by Members who have family members and relatives with lived experience of diabetes are really interesting. I have no one closely connected to me who lives with diabetes, and, sometimes, if you do not have that lived experience, you are in the dark, so it is important to hear Members speak about people who have lived with it. My baby, Torin, had a stay in hospital just before Christmas last year. A young child shared a room with Torin. That wee boy was only about eight or nine. He had just been diagnosed with diabetes, and he was in hospital with his parents. He shared a room with Torin for about a week. I still think about that child — I hope that he is doing great — because, although I was there for different reasons, I could sense the strain and pressure that that diagnosis put on the child and his family. That was my first insight into the life-changing impact of that diagnosis. I am sure that living with it is difficult for adults, but it must be especially so for children who are trying to manage diabetes. It is important to say that. Diabetes UK was, thankfully, able to make it into the Gallery for the debate. The business has moved quickly, then more slowly, then quickly again, so it is good that the charity is here to hear Members' comments. Points have been made about the connection between rates of diabetes diagnosis and areas of higher deprivation. It is no surprise that we see some of the bigger spikes in those areas. I am conscious that the Minister has spoken about making health inequalities one of his top priorities since coming into post, so he might have feedback on how his health inequalities programmes can target diabetes and do some of the preventive stuff that is referred to in the motion and that Members have talked about. Prevention has come up time and again. As with many other illnesses and diagnoses, where you can intervene earlier and educate better, there is probably a better chance of making living with the illness more bearable. The National Diabetes Audit was referred to — Cheryl referenced it a good wee bit in her opening remarks — and it is important for us to participate in that as much as we can. Where it has been rolled out in other parts of these islands, it has shone a light on where services work well and, importantly, where they fall short. We will, hopefully, take any input or learning that we can get from that process. Trying to move forward with technical advances and the NICE guidance on hybrid closed-loop technology was also mentioned. Philip mentioned his wife. We know patients who are living with the condition. We know of practical examples of life-changing treatments. Maybe there could be more of a focus on delivering the things that, patients with direct experience have told us, massively help them in their lives. The diabetes strategy covers the period from 2016 to 2026, and it is coming to an end. The Minister, like most of us, is not a fan of strategies and long, drawn-out processes. Maybe the Minister can give us feedback about what will happen when the strategy expires. I know that he is focused on action and action plans, but it would be useful to get an update on his next steps and how he sees the matter progressing.

585 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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