Diabetes Isle of Man, formerly known as the Manx Diabetic Group, was officially formed in June 2010. We exist to help improve the lives of everybody affected by diabetes in the Isle of Man.
Nearly all the funds that we raise are used to benefit Manx diabetics. Any money that does go off island is raised and donated by the group for specific research purposes.
In June 2019, the charity employed its first member of staff to assist with the continued development of the charity, to look at our strategy, and to help us achieve all our aims and objectives. Our office is now based in central Douglas, and we hope to expand our operations in the future as demand for our services increases.
Our overarching aim is to ensure that everyone impacted by diabetes in the Isle of Man receives the best care and treatment of their condition. This will be achieved through the continuous improvement of front line care services and offering additional support where possible.
We work very closely with front line services to help improve the quality of care for all those with diabetes on the Isle of Man.
We procure and donate relevant equipment required by the diabetic services at Noble’s Hospital, including any other departments linked with diabetes.
We circulate up to date information via printed leaflets and social media, raising an awareness of the condition and the charity on the Island.
We deliver talks on diabetes to all organisations, big or small, around the Island to help raise awareness.
We will shortly be launching frequent ‘Know Your Risk’ of Type 2 events locally.
We are currently working closely with mental health services on the Island to develop a framework for those suffering mentally with a diagnosis, and struggling with the ups and downs of the condition.
We lobby and encourage the Isle of Man Government to implement legislation that is considerate of those with diabetes.
We raise and provide funds for medical staff training courses, specialising in the condition.
We will shortly begin facilitating regular group ‘meet-ups’ for those with diabetes, to encourage conversation and experience sharing to build a solid community.
Volunteering is very important to us and we are eager to build our volunteer base. We plan on attending a number of public events throughout the calendar year to raise awareness of the condition, to raise funds for the charity, and to spread the news of the work that we do.
As we develop, we hope to create a strong group of volunteers who can fundraise and facilitate support groups across the length and breadth of the Island.
If this is something that would interest you, please email hello@diabetesisleofman.com and we can have a chat!
We rely on the generous donations from the general public and local organisations to enable us to do what we do. If you would like to get involved and raise funds for Diabetes Isle of Man, we'd love to hear from you! As we've mentioned already, all funds raised by and donated to Diabetes Isle of Man stay on the Island to benefit those with diabetes locally.
To make a donation, simply hit one of the donate buttons on our site or get in touch via email for payment details.
Pumps4Kids was a collaborative campaign between the then Manx Diabetic Group and the Isle of Man Newspapers that launched in 2012. The charity and the newspaper group set themselves a target of £20,000, which would allow them to wipe out the waiting list at Noble’s Hospital for children’s insulin pumps. Insulin pumps replace multiple daily injections in those with type 1 diabetes and are often favoured by children too young to inject themselves.
The campaign surpassed its target with the help and generosity of the Manx public and eradicated the waiting list, not only for children but for adults with type 1 diabetes too. The hard work of this campaign means that to this day, there is currently no waiting list for any type 1 diabetic looking to go onto an insulin pump.
The charity was the recipient of the Isle of Man Newspapers Award for Excellence for Teamwork in 2012, because of the working relationship between the Manx Diabetic Group, the newspapers and the team at the Diabetes Centre to achieve such an amazing feat.
Monitors4Kids was a campaign led by a group of parents to children with Type 1 diabetes. The campaign launched in July of 2018, with an aim of raising £120,000 to fund continuous-glucose monitoring for all Type 1 diabetic children on the Isle of Man. These continuous-glucose monitors replace the need for multiple painful finger-prick blood tests a day and provide those with the condition 24-hour reassurance.
The Manx Diabetic Group supported this campaign from the launch, as it is an incredible cause and has helped to raise awareness of the latest technology available to diabetic patients. In January 2020, the campaign members announced they had hit their £120,000 target just over 6 months early, again down to the generosity and kind assistance of the Manx public and businesses on the Island.
The campaign will continue to fund CGM technology in Type 1 children until December 2020. For the last 4 years, the charity has been lobbying the Isle of Man Government to get this life-changing technology on prescription for both children and adult Type 1 diabetics. On Friday 21st February 2020, it was announced that the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose monitoring system would be available to all those with Type 1 diabetes from April 2020.
We no longer have an office in Douglas, but we do have a monitored correspondence address in Castletown that you can send any letters or cheque donations to. Our address is at the very bottom of this page.
If you have a query, a request for a talk, or would like to find out more about how you can support Diabetes Isle of Man, give us a call on 622325 or send us an email to hello@diabetesisleofman.com and we will get back to you.