Augusta GP Louise Marsh and Diabetes Educator Gillian Walsh talk to ZOE DELEUIL about how Diabetes Connect supports them in providing diabetes care in the southwest.
GP Louise Marsh works across two clinics in Margaret River and Augusta. Having been based in the region for 25 years, she has a lot of regular patients, many of whom are elderly with complex medical needs.
“Here in Augusta, there are no endocrinologists visiting, although we now have Gillian, a diabetes educator, which has really helped. I heard about Diabetes Connect through Rural Health West soon after it started and have used the service a few times.”
She says that saving her elderly patients a long journey to Perth for a hospital appointment is one of the key benefits of the service.
Sometimes you just want to get someone on the right track or double-check what you’re doing immediately.
A recent case was an elderly patient with type 2 diabetes. This patient was having side effects from a number of medications and had very high blood glucose. Dr Marsh sought advice from a Diabetes Connect endocrinologist about starting them on insulin and says that they’ve since done well.
“Had Diabetes Connect not been available, I probably would have sent this patient to Margaret River where we have an endocrinologist, Professor Tim Davis, visiting once a month. However, it can take time to get an appointment with him, and it’s a privately billed service, which is an obstacle for some people.”
She says another area where Diabetes Connect is useful is when navigating the intricacies of the PBS and understanding what can and can’t be prescribed, or whether she needs to try a particular medication before prescribing something else.
“GPs have this information, but it takes time to look it up and in a busy practice, when you’re trying to see patients within 15 minutes, being able to call someone who really knows the restrictions around prescribing diabetes medication saves us valuable time,” she says.
Diabetes educator Janine Wright, who lives in Augusta, says that while people understand that healthcare is more limited in rural areas, they may not always appreciate just how limited it can be. She says she would love people to have more access to diabetes services locally, but it’s not always possible in rural areas with small, spread-out populations.
“Most of my referrals are for elderly people living with diabetes. By seeing clients under a bulk-billed care plan and conducting home visits rather than hiring a venue, I can offer a very low-cost service to my community here in Augusta. I have to do a lot of driving, and that can take time as some people live outside of Augusta, on Molloy Island or in Karridale. I also work as diabetes educator for a pharmacy in Donnybrook, see gestational diabetes patients in Bunbury and teach nursing students online at the University of Tasmania.”
She says that most of her clients grow their own fruit and there’s not a lot of fast food in Augusta, so they tend to eat well.
“It’s more that they’ve had diabetes for a long time. Many are on a mix of medications due to their age, so that needs a review, or their diabetes is not well managed. Obviously, some of our elderly patients can’t easily drive to Margaret River to see the endocrinologist there. It’s also a cost issue as it’s a private service and sometimes pensioners just can’t pull that money together.”
She would like to get the word out about what diabetes educators can offer but says that it takes time.
“The GPs here in the southwest of WA are always very stretched, as all GPs are, and if they can now work directly with endocrinologists though Diabetes WA Connect it’s a good thing. Our patients really need the support.”
Diabetes WA endocrinologist Greg Ong, who recently travelled to the region to meet with local GPs, says that there are many reasons a call or multidisciplinary case conference between a GP and Diabetes Connect can be useful.
“I was glad to visit the southwest and meet so many GP colleagues who are ardent users of our service. We often don’t get to know what happens afterwards, and hearing these personal anecdotes gives me great pride that Diabetes Connect is a valued and effective resource,” he says.
Diabetes Connect
Supporting GPs and nurse practitioners with diabetes management.
GPs and nurse practitioners: visit our professional hub to book a call, multi-disciplinary case conference or education event targeted to your needs with one of our endocrinologists.
