LOCAL CHAMPION MEETS WITH MP OVER DIABETES INEQUALITIES

2.52.00pm GMT Mon 1st Dec 2008

Andrew meets with Oliver and his Dad at the Diabetes UK Parliamentary Lobby

Local MP Andrew Stunell recently met with nine-year-old Oliver Rogerson, to discuss inequalities in support for pupils with diabetes at schools in England. Oliver, who has diabetes, is a school pupil at Mellor Primary School in Andrew's Constituency, and came to Westminster recently to take part in the Diabetes UK lobby of Parliament.

The event was attended by around 100 parliamentarians, who heard from over 200 children and young people with diabetes from across the country about their experiences. Whilst some of the children, including Oliver, receive excellent support to manage their diabetes at school, others have not been so lucky. Some were denied access to snacks during lessons, kept out of class unnecessarily and banned from going on school trips.

There were also some stark reminders of how deadly a condition diabetes can be if not managed properly, with the news that diabetes is responsible for 100 amputations a month, and one in ten deaths in the UK can be attributed to the disease. Most worryingly, of the 2.5 million people with diabetes in the UK, almost 500,000 don't even know they have the condition. There are currently 4,145 diabetics within Andrew's constituency, which is expected to rise to 5,414 by 2025.

Commenting, Andrew said:

"It was a great event, and a pleasure to meet Oliver, who is a terrific young man, and determined to do his bit to make life better for other people with his condition.

"It was great to see so many children from around the country come together to explain to politicians the difficulties that many of them face on a daily basis, and how they could be solved.

"Too often Diabetes is a misunderstood illness, and many people forget how serious a condition it can be. We need better education to warn diabetics of the potential dangers of their illness, but also better education for non-diabetics so they better understand the illness, to ensure so that these incidents are not repeated."

ENDS