National Assembly for Wales Cross Party Group on Diabetes

Minutes of Annual General Meeting followed by ordinary meeting held on Tuesday 23 February 2016 Conference Room 21, Ty Hywel

Attendees

Jenny Rathbone AM (Chair)

Jeff Cuthbert AM

Kirsty Williams AM

Vaughan Gething AM

Altaf Hussain AM

John Griffiths (lay Member)

Julia Platts (National Clinical Lead)

Camilla Horwood (Novo Nordisk)

Julia Coffey (Johnson & Johnson)

Becky Reeve (Sanofi)

Jason Harding (Diabetes UK Cymru)

Dai Williams (Diabetes UK Cymru)

Sara Moran (Diabetes UK Cymru)

Pip Ford (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy)

Robert Koya Rawlinson (Novo Nordisk)

Greg Titley (Lay Member)

David Chapman (Representing Medtronic)

Helen Cunningham (Office of Jenny Rathbone AM)

Helen Hayes (Lay Member)

Sarah Davies (Woodlands Medical Practice)

Alex Locke (Johnson & Johnson)

Julia Coffey (Johnson & Johnson)

Wendy Gane (Diabetes Peer Support)

Yvonne Johns (Diabetes North Wales Reference Groups)

Penny Griffiths (Lay Member)

Matthew Russell ( Merck Sharp & Dohme)

 Andrew Crowder (Lay Member)

Steve Bain (Swansea University)

Jennifer Perry (Patient rep)

Steve Perry (Patient Rep)

Robert Lee (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Elaine Adams (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Keith  Marshall (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Norah Marshall (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Jennifer Armand (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Samantha Chohan (Patient rep, Cardiff & Vale)

Mr Stephen Sims (Cardiff Diabetes UK Cymru Group)
Mrs. Cheryl Sims (Cardiff Diabetes UK Cymru Group)

Apologies

Angela Magny (Roche Diabetes Care)

Pip Ford (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy)

Scott Cawley (All Wales Podiatry)

Paul Coker (Lay Member)

Robert Wright (Lay Member)

Dr Lindsay George (Consultant Diabetologist)

Annual General Meeting

i) Annual Report & Financial Statement

Dai Williams chaired the meeting and thanked Jenny Rathbone for all her work as Chair of the CPG. He gave an overview of the annual report and financial statement that the members of the group had received. They were both accepted as a true record

ii) Election of Officers

Jenny Rathbone was re-elected as Chair. Dai Williams informed the meeting that Helen Cunningham was moving on to a new job so would not continue as Secretary and thanked her for her support. It was agreed that Jason Harding from Diabetes UK Cymru would take over as Secretary until after the elections and it would be reviewed with the advent of the fifth Assembly. This was agreed by the meeting

Ordinary Meeting

1. Panel Discussion

Jason Harding chaired the panel. Panel members were Vaughan Gething AM (Deputy Minister for Health) for Labour, Kirsty Williams AM for the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Altaf Hussain AM for the Welsh Conservatives

Each of the party spokespeople outlined their priorities for diabetes. Kirsty Williams talked about having more consistent implementation and more of a focus on prevention. She informed the meeting about lessons that can be drawn from places like Philadelphia in terms of how measures like access to green spaces have helped reduce diabetes rates. She added that access to specialist nurses and education can help people to better manage their condition.

Altaf Hussain talked about the importance of preventing diabetes in children. He informed the group about the recent publication by the Royal College of Paediatricians report on the effect of outdoor pollution on children, and how we can also draw lessons about diabetes from it. Altaf said that one sixth of the population are at risk of type 2 diabetes and outlined the Welsh Conservative pledge for a stay at home medical assessment for all people in receipt of a state pension

Vaughan Gething outlined some key milestones including now having a diabetes clinical lead and a Diabetes Delivery Plan and implementation group. Vaughan cautioned that there is still more to be done and that a major challenge is the cost of healthcare in the face of cut from Westminster. Vaughan expressed optimism that diabetes rates appear to be levelling on but expressed an aim to help people take ownership of their health needs

Kirsty Williams gave her apologies to the meeting as she had to leave at this point for another commitment.

The panel went on to take questions from the audience including better healthcare for the BME community, stigmatisation of people with diabetes and patient education.

Vaughan pointed out that we have less amputations in Wales than in England comparatively. Altaf added that early intervention can reduce rates further. A debate took place about a sugar tax and the merits of voluntary or mandatory compulsion.

Jason thanked the panel and all who attended for their contribution and drew the meeting to a close.

Date of next meeting: To be confirmed following May 2016 Assembly Elections