Mibbinbah champion and all round good bloke Charlie Fay recently coordinated a diabetes camp at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Heads in Northern NSW with Vicki Eastaway Diabetes and Cardiovascular Nurse on behalf of Bugalwena Aboriginal Health Service Unit.

The aim of the camp was to provide education and support to Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander people who have diabetes or are in the high risk category of developing the disease.

The camp was held over a five day period with a series of workshops and activities developed for attendees to participate in. A survey was conducted at the beginning of the camp in order to understand what individuals hoped to achieve from the five days. Each person’s weight, blood pressure and height were assessed so a comparison could be made at the conclusion of the camp on the participants progress.

Breakfast was half a kilometre walk from the camp base to encourage physical activity. Participants were also required to take part in a daily activity such as a bird watching walk, archery, canoeing or indoor bowls. Workshops and educational material was delivered over the five days with guest speakers taking each session.

Dr Kris Kandasamy from the Bugalwena General Practice held a workshop on Medication management and the necessity of annual screening.

Maxine Daley a Dietician from Indigenous Health Queensland held a workshop on food selection and appropriate portions of food per serve.

Elizabeth Ward from Lilly explained insulin and how to use a needle pen to take sugar levels. She also discussed techniques on dealing with needle phobias.

Ronella Phillips, Health Promotions Officer Bugalwena and Tomasina Sussyer, Family Support Worker Bugalwena held a light exercise class, gave participants a take home DVD with further home exercises, they also ran a game of food bingo to educate on good and bad foods.

Pamela Leadbeatter, Dementia Outreach Worker talked on added stress created by the disease and its effect on individuals day to day lives.

Del Oliver, CNC (Community Nurse Consultant) in diabetes from Murwillumbah explained fats in food and the effect it has on the body. Del also used people’s diets to give examples of fat and sugar quantities; this was done with bowls showing quantities with some surprising results.

At the end of the camp a second survey was held and each of the participants was again weighted and had their blood pressure and height taken. All of the participants improved on their results with everyone experiencing weight loss and the majority improving on their blood pressure. The survey came back with very positive results; all individuals who partook in the program said they would recommend it to others.

If you would like further information on diabetes education or are interested in attending a camp you can contact: Charlie Fay on: 07 5506 7778

The next camp is scheduled to take place mid 2010 at Midginbil Hill.