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Harbour Health runs a number of education and support groups for patients who are members of practices affliated to Harbour Health:
Self Management Education Groups
Healthy Lifestyle Groups
Podiatry
Diabetes Annual Review
Health Pyschology
Retinal Eye Screening
Self-Management Education Groups
Diabetes Self-Management Education Groups are held at Harbour Health for people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The objective of these sessions is to help people understand their diabetes and pre-diabetes, and empower them to feel confident in its management. Subjects covered include what diabetes and pre-diabetes is, symptoms, medications, keeping active, and food choices.
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Healthy Lifestyle Groups
The healthy lifestyle groups held at Harbour Health help people with cardiovascular risk reduction. These groups cater for people needing blood pressure, cholesterol and/or weight management. Subjects covered in the groups include healthy food choices, what is blood pressure, cholesterol profile and what it means, and keeping active. Participants may attend ongoing follow-up sessions. People who have attended the follow-up sessions have said “it helps keep me motivated”.
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Podiatry
Practices who are affliated to Harbour Health are able to offer patients a free podiatry service for people with diabetes. Your doctor or nurse may refer you for this.
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Diabetes Annual Review
This is a free check carried out by your nurse or doctor every year to help you manage your diabetes and prevent complications. You can arrange your free check by contacting your family doctor.
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Health Pyschology
Harbour Health is offering the services of a Health Psychologist free to participants in its Diabetes Education Prograrmme and Care Plus. This initiative is a pilot, and Health Psychology services are not being offered directly to practices, but through these existing programmes.
A Health Psychologist supports the work of General Pracitioners by helping patients who are having difficulty implementing lifestyle and management changes necessary for coping with chronic physical conditions. A psychologist can also help patients work through distressing feelings that may accompany a chronic condition and explore solutions to overcome barriers to making lifestyle changes.
Participants attending the diabetes education groups are self-referred and have the opportunity to see the health psychologist one on one. Research has shown that adding psychological intervention to life-style education makes a huge difference in improving health and quality of life for some people.
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Retinal Eye Screening
This free community based Service is run in partnership with the Waitemata District Health Board and is available by referral from General Practitioners’, to anyone who has been diagnosed with diabetes. This mobile Service has a specially equipped van which travels to clinics on the North Shore as well as Red Beach, Helensville, Waimauku, Warkworth and Wellsford.
The Diabetes Eye Screening team consists of Margot McDonald (Clinic Co-Ordinator), Kathy Dyer (Retinal Photographer) and Debbie Pile (Nurse).
Photographs are taken of the backs of the eyes (retinas) to check if there is any damage due to diabetes, called diabetic retinopathy. This is not the same as a general eye examination which is conducted by an optician or ophthalmologist which we recommend be done every two years.
The benefits of retinal screening are:
- Early detection of eye damage caused by having diabetes
- If detected early, serious eye damage can usually be prevented by laser treatment
- Once eye sight is lost, it is lost permanently
If family members are not able to assist with translation, the service will provide interpreters upon request.
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For further information
Email: info@harbourhealth.org.nz
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