Page 2468 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Omit paragraph (3)(b), substitute:
“(b) work closely with Diabetes NSW & ACT and other relevant organisations to promote testing for diabetes to ACT public servants.”.
While the government remains committed to diabetes prevention, it would not be appropriate to mandate the testing of its public servants for diabetes. Therefore, the amendment that I have moved to Ms Lawder’s motion outlines the government’s commitment to work with Diabetes NSW & ACT and other relevant organisations to promote diabetes testing to ACT public servants. Essentially, it replaces the word “ensure” with the word “promote” to be clear that we are not mandating testing for ACT public servants.
As the motion notes, National Diabetes Week was held from 14 to 20 July this year with the message, “It’s about time we all took the time.” This message highlighted that we should all take the time to better detect all types of diabetes. For type 1 diabetes, this means taking the time to learn the four Ts: toilet, thirsty, tired, thinner—the early warning signs of type 1 diabetes.
For type 2 diabetes, this means taking the time to get checked. As Ms Lawder has already outlined, diabetes is a condition affecting a growing number of people in the ACT community, with an increasingly adverse impact on the wellbeing of Canberrans as individuals but also the broader community through higher health service utilisation and costs.
Diabetes comes in a range of types. However, the three most common include type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition where the body destroys cells which produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes requires daily treatment with insulin for survival.
Type 2 diabetes is the most commonly occurring diabetes and occurs when the body gradually loses the ability to produce enough insulin or becomes resistant to its normal effects. While traditionally diagnosed in people over 50, it is increasingly being diagnosed much earlier.
Finally, gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. However, some women will continue to have high levels of blood glucose after the birth of their child. Gestational diabetes is the fastest growing form of diabetes in the ACT and in Australia. Diabetes during pregnancy has adverse effects on both women and their babies in the short and long term.
In the short term, there are increased risks during pregnancy, labour and delivery, such as high blood pressure during pregnancy, preterm delivery, high birth weight and longer hospital stays associated with admittance to specialist care or the neonatal nursery. Once women are affected by gestational diabetes during a pregnancy, their chances of having diabetes during future pregnancies is markedly increased.
Furthermore, in the longer term, women with gestational diabetes are at much greater risk of developing diabetes later in life and their babies are more likely to be obese and develop diabetes themselves. This has an added impact on the prevalence of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video