West Australians living in the Pilbara now have access to free diabetes equipment thanks to a Chevron grant administered through Diabetes WA.
Diabetes monitoring equipment can be difficult to access in remote West Australian communities. However, a generous $15K grant from Chevron has changed this for health centres across the Pilbara region.
Pharmacist Benjamin Teo, who operates a pharmacy out of the Mawarnkarra Health Service in Roebourne, says the grant is a game changer.
“Supplying monitors, strips and so on free of charge to patients is such a big part of what we do day-to-day. Without this grant I don’t know how our customers would monitor their blood glucose levels. Now, every month we can gauge what our patients need and put in an order with Diabetes WA,” says Benjamin.
A range of barriers exist for people living in remote areas when it comes to accessing essential supplies, says Diabetes WA clinical services manager Jessica Weiss.
“In addition to persistent shortages of free blood glucose meters, people may need to travel vast distances to their closest pharmacy to access their diabetes supplies, which may not keep all products in stock,” Jess says.
While most of this equipment is subsidised through the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS), not everyone living with diabetes in remote communities is registered with the scheme, due to limited local access to diabetes educators and specialists. This means they are unable to access NDSS-subsidised products and services.
Limited access to health professionals can also make using newer diabetes technology, including CGMs and insulin pumps, more challenging as people can’t easily access the trained health professionals required to start this technology. As a result, blood glucose meters and strips for finger prick testing are widely used.
“I’ve been working in Aboriginal medical services for a decade,” says Benjamin. “Some manufacturers donate supplies and if they ran out, we’d buy them, so grants like this are significant. Everyone appreciates how valuable they are and uses them carefully because they know we are lucky to have this supply.”
Accessing diabetes products in remote areas
The Rural and Remote Supply Service, administered by Diabetes WA, supports organisations and individuals who would otherwise find it difficult to access their NDSS diabetes products.
Many Aboriginal Medical Services and other remote area health services currently distribute to local communities as part of their overall health care.
This allows equitable access to NDSS products at culturally safe locations.
To find out more or to register your organisation as a distribution point for your community, contact our NDSS relationship team at NDSSRelationship@diabeteswa.com.au or call 1300 001 880.
