Living with diabetes? What matters to you?

South East London Integrated Care System wants to ensure that everyone living with diabetes receives the care they need.

Between May 2024 – March 2025), the South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) diabetes programme partnered with local voluntary community organisation, Food for Purpose CIC to gather feedback and co-developing solution to improve diabetes services for people living with type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes.

Food for Purpose has been working with local people and community groups aiming to engage from a wide range of backgrounds including people from Portuguese, Latin American, Spanish, Black African, Black Caribbean, Polish, and South Asian communities.

Through a series of participatory workshops delivered both in person and online the Food for Purpose team listened to over 200 people across south east London. The insights gathered were analysed and grouped in key themes - pain points and recommendations to address the main challenges people face during their diabetes care journey.

• Food and nutrition
• Language and communications
• Self-management
• Educations
• Trust

You can download and read the full report.

Next steps

Over the next year, in response to the report findings, the programme team will be sharing key learning with partners across the South East London Integrated Care System who are working to improve diabetes care. This will help ensure that the insights are not only widely communicated but also meaningfully embedded into ongoing practice.

Additionally, the team will explore the development of culturally tailored recipes, strengthen outreach activities by creating more opportunities to deliver sessions within community settings and work on developing a guide for people newly diagnosed with diabetes.

We would like to thank you to our residents and voluntary and community sector organisations whose valuable support continues to shape and improve the way we design and deliver care. We look forward to continuing working together to build services that are responsive, inclusive and respond to our communities’ needs

Background

This approach builds on outcomes and insights that we collected in the last couple of years working with Mabadiliko CIC. During this phase we listen to local people and understand what matters to those living with diabetes and at risk of diabetes. We particularly listen to the voices of people from Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian heritage, as type 2 diabetes is up to six times more likely in people of South Asian descent and three times more likely in Black African and Caribbean people.

You can read the report from this work here and below outcomes which mattered most to people. The participants divided them into individual and collective ‘I’ and ‘We’ statements, as follows:

• I am always able to see an appropriate healthcare professional within a reasonable timeframe.
• I am provided with a range of clearly explained treatment options and have a choice in the final decisions made.
• I feel confident to carry out the self-management activities needed to manage my Diabetes.
• I am referred to physical activity support that fits with my budget and is accessible for me.
• We are able to discuss diabetes with people that we relate to who have lived experience of Diabetes.
• We know how to challenge or share feedback about our care and feel safe to do so.
• We receive motivational support to help stick to changes in our lives.
• We receive food and cooking advice based on our cultural needs if we need it.
• We have the opportunity to discuss non-health issues that are affecting our diabetes.
• Our healthcare professionals treat us with dignity and respect.
• Our healthcare professionals take time to understand our individual experiences and needs.

Other concerned and recommendations raised:

• lack of trust of the healthcare system
• a desire for advice to be tailored for cultural and social needs,
• interest in alternative medicines and holistic approaches, alongside peer support.