The standard of care for people living with diabetes should be the same across the country, say advocates.
And that's just one of the guiding principles behind a brand new Diabetes Charter for Canada unveiled by the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) today, to coincide with World Health Day.
"The goal of the charter itself is to act as a catalyst for positive societal change and to inspire comparable access to diabetes support and care for all people living with the disease," said Sue Taylor, CDA regional director for B.C. and the Yukon.
It shouldn't matter where someone with diabetes lives in the country, said Taylor. "For instance, in Ontario and Alberta they have unrestricted pump coverage. We would like that to be across the board in Canada. You shouldn't move to another province and have less than you did in the province you just left."
Earlier this year, the B.C. government announced that effective April 1 they were extending insulin pump and supply coverage for young people from the age of 18 to 25.
The charter is the first of its kind in Canada and was created with input from more than 200 people across the country.
"These are people living with diabetes, caregivers, health care providers, government officials - really a grassroots effort to give input to what the rights and responsibilities ought to be," Taylor said.
Prince George resident Richard LeFebvre volunteers with the local Canadian Diabetes Association branch and took part in a brainstorming session for the charter last summer in Vancouver.
Though he doesn't live with the disease himself, LeFebvre has given time to the organization for the past 20 years and said he is happy to see progress being made.
"I came away from [the session] pretty energized," he said. "I felt we had thrown out some good ideas to work with."
Taylor called the Charter an "aspirational document" and hopes that by working to meet the 34 tenets aimed at governments, health care providers, those with diabetes, workplaces and schools, and the association itself, people living with diabetes will be treated with dignity and respect.
"Across Canada, people living with diabetes frequently experience stigma, a lack of public awareness and misunderstanding about the disease," said Canadian Diabetes Association president and CEO J. Richard Blickstead in a press release.
An estimated 421,000 people have diabetes in B.C. and that number is expected to grow to 634,000 in 10 years.
"The cost to the health-care system is horrendous," said Taylor, citing an estimated $1.6 billion drain on resources to handle diabetes. About 80 per cent of those costs are due to diabetes complications, she said. "If we can keep people with diabetes healthy we will help to prevent some of those interventions that happen as a result of diabetes like the heart [disease] and stroke, kidney disease and amputation."
Canadians across the country are invited to sign on to the charter online at www.MyDiabetesCharter.ca and offer their support.
"We're hoping to get thousands of people who support the document, in principle," said Taylor.
