Diabetes Education
(DAFNE, CHOICE, CODE, DESMOND)
‘The diabetic who knows the most lives the longest’.
Elliott Proctor Joslin, the first doctor in the United States to specialize in diabetes and was the founder of today’s Joslin Diabetes Center.
Updated 31st October 2022 - Diabetes is complicated to manage, and access to specialist education is a basic necessity if anyone living with diabetes is to have half a chance to live well with it. This page is a list of what diabetes education is available in Ireland for all types of diabetes.
Structured Type 1 Diabetes Education in Ireland has limited availability and usually involves long waiting lists. However, it is worth pursuing. Whether you have Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, it can feel like there is a lot to learn, and diabetes education provides a good foundation.
“People who have been on a course feel more confident about looking after their condition and are less likely to suffer complications.” In fact, attending a course is one of the 15 Healthcare Essentials, the essential health checks and services that everyone with diabetes should be getting from their healthcare team every year." from Diabetes UK
After all, you would never, NEVER get behind the steering wheel of a car to drive without having someone teach you how to drive first! Then why do we expect people with diabetes to learn about nutrition, medication, fitness, physiology etc., without giving them diabetes education!!!
NOTE Online Carb Counting Training - If you attend a diabetes clinic that does not provide Type 1 diabetes education here is an online education resource called BERTIE online.
Type 1 Diabetes Education AVAILABLE in Ireland and where.
FOR ADULTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES.
DAFNE (Dosage Adjustment For Normal Eating)
The DAFNE course originated in Germany in the 1980’s as the Düsseldorf Approach. It was designed by the diabetes team at the Diabetes Centre in Düsseldorf, led by Michael Berger. People learned to match their insulin dose to their food on a meal-by-meal basis. The aim is that they can keep healthy blood glucose control without a higher risk of severe hypoglycaemia. In 1998, a team from the UK adapted the Düsseldorf Approach creating the Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating (DAFNE). More about DAFNE here.
DAFNE is available in;
Cavan General Hospital
Carlow - Primary Care Centre Shamrock Plaza, Carlow
Cork University Hospital - Added April 2021
Dublin - Beaumont Hospital
Dublin - Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown
Dublin - Endocrine Unit, St Columcille’s Hospital, Loughlinstown
Dublin - St Vincent’s Hospital
Galway - University College Hospital
Kilkenny - St Luke’s General Hospital
Laois - Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise - Added 2022
Limerick - University Hospital Limerick - Added October 2022
Meath - Diabetes Day Centre, Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan
Monaghan Hospital
Mayo - University College Hospital Castlebar
Waterford - University Hospital Waterford - Added 2020
Westmeath - Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar
Wexford General Hospital
Northern Ireland
Thanks to Dr Neil Black from Derry/Londonderry for his help in compiling this list.
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
Belfast City Hospital Belfast
Mater Hospital
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
Antrim Area Hospital
Whiteabbey Hospital
Mid Ulster Hospital
Causeway Hospital
South Eastern Hospitals NHS Trust
Ulster Hospital, Dundonald
Ards Hospital, Newtwownards
Downe Hospital, Downpatrick Lagan
Lagan Valley Hospital, Lisburn
Southern Health and Social Care Trust
Craigavon Area Hospital
Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry
Western Health & Social Care Trust
Altnagelvin Hospital (Derry/Londonderry)
Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Centre
South West Acute Hospital Enniskillen
FOR CHILDREN WITH DIABETES AND Their parents
CHOICE (carbohydrate and insulin collaborative education) PROGRAMME
Originally developed by Dr David Chaney, in the University of Ulster, specifically for children and young people with diabetes, this programme was rolled out across shortly after 2010.
The CHOICE programme is helping families and children to manage their diabetes more effectively. Children and young people attend the CHOICE programme over a four week period, with each session lasting three hours. The aim of the programme is to give children, young people and their families or carers, the skills and knowledge they need to manage their diabetes and to reduce the impact of the condition on daily activities and lifestyle.
CHOICE is available in the main paediatric diabetes centres:
Tallaght Hospital, Dublin
Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin
Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin
Cork University Hospital, Cork
Limerick University Hospital, Limerick (shared service with University Hospital Galway)
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Louth
Sligo Regional Hospital, Sligo
Northern Ireland Paediatric units:
Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
Ulster Hospital
Craigavon Area Hospital
Antrim Area Hospital
Altnagelvin Area Hospital
South West Acute Hospital
Type 2 Diabetes Education AVAILABLE in Ireland and where.
CODE Community Oriented Diabetes Education
CODE is a type 2 diabetes course provided by Diabetes Ireland in most local communities. The waiting lists tend to be short - ish and you can sign up yourself by contacting Diabetes Ireland by telephone: 01 842 8118 or email info@diabetes.ie
HSE DESMOND / Discover Diabetes
There are also other type 2 diabetes education courses provided in various areas by the HSE called DESMOND and Discover Diabetes. To find out more about these courses, contact your local GP or diabetes nurse specialist. You can also book a place on these courses through the HSE website here.