New diabetes clinic at Faith Hospital

Physiotherapist Pierann Brown, MOIC Dr Orett Thane
and Nurse Zelta Sterling outline the new Diabetes
Clinic at a presentation at Faith Hospital. 

Patients on Cayman Brac listen to plans for a new
outreach diabetes programme.

Friday,  November 11, 2005  

Faith Hospital is launching a “new look” diabetes outreach clinic, which is intended to move away from a physician centered method of treatment, and into the concept of team management.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

The cause of diabetes is not fully understood, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to be significant factors in its development.

Diabetes is a major health problem throughout the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands. There are over one hundred diabetes patients on Cayman Brac alone, and with this new approach, staff at Faith Hospital hope to help patients manage the disease better.

According to Dr Orett Thane, Medical Officer in Charge of Faith Hospital, this management team is an assembly of HSA staff members to assist in four main areas.

Number one is a nurse, who will act as the diabetes educator. Number two is the physical therapist, who will focus on exercise management and foot care, since feet can be particularly problematic with diabetes.

Number three is the physician, who will give a full head to toe check. Number four is the dietician nutritionist, who visits regularly from Grand Cayman and will be coordinating these visits with the diabetes clinic.

The programme will operate by having patients arrive for their sessions in groups of around nine. Diabetic patients on the Island will rotate, and there will be a different selection for each clinic, said Dr Thane.

The idea is that all the patients in that group will arrive together. At the beginning of the clinic, all patients will be seated around a table for the group session focused on education and feedback from the patients, he explained.

Then the group will split into three sub-groups that will rotate between the physician, the physical therapist and the dietician.

Dr Thane explained that these diabetic clinics will, at first, be held once per month, but they are prepared to increase this to twice per month depending on the response.

Sessions will be by appointment only and all patients in that clinic are expected to be at Faith Hospital by 1:00 pm.

The aims and objectives of the clinics are to reduce the risk of complications and to treat the symptoms.

They will also result in appropriate referrals to such specialists as surgeons and ophthalmologists as conditions dictate, noted Dr Thane.

“We are also seeking opportunities for staff to upgrade ourselves to offer the best care to diabetes on the Sister Islands,” he said..

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