VOLUME 7 NUMBER 4 • NOVEMBER 2010
165
Making a difference among
disadvantaged diabetic children
in the southern Cape
Diabetes Personalities
D
r Jacques van Staden and Sr Maureen Barnard
recently won the Servier award for Community
Involvement in Diabetes for their sterling work
in the southern Cape. Based in George, they also treat
patients from as far afield as Beaufort West, Knysna
and Heidelberg. ‘It’s a great honour to be recognised in
this way’, says Sr Barnard, while Dr van Staden admits
to being ‘dumbstruck’, given that the award came as a
complete surprise. ‘While it’s a great privilege to have
our work noticed in this way, when all is said and done,
we do it first and foremost because we love and care
passionately about it’, he said.
Their work began in 2008 when, in the wake of a
diabetes camp, Sr Barnard recognised that there was
a desperate need for diabetes education in the area,
especially among disadvantaged children. ‘Many of
them are victims of the system’, she says. ‘Because
they’re dependent on the public sector, they cannot
access education and have only the option of taking
NPH and regular insulin, rather than the newer and
more-effective analogues. I wanted to try and change
this, especially with regard to being able to give them
long-acting insulin.’
‘It’s important to involve both the child and their
parents in the education process, which takes time’,
she continues. To this end, they usually spend several
days with Sr Barnard in her own home, where she of-
fers hands-on, personalised advice. This is because
she feels that the hospital environment is not a natural
one and is not conducive to encouraging knowledge
and compliance.
Realising that she couldn’t do it alone, she ap-
proached Dr van Staden for his assistance. He immedi-
ately offered his support and has been‘an absolute star’
she says. Dr van Staden, in addition to being commit-
ted to diabetes care, is also an enthusiastic cyclist and
he decided to combine his two passions in the interest
of raising money to support his and Sr Barnard’s work.
‘I created ‘Cycle for Diabetes’, assembling a team of
cyclists who cycle all around the country to raise dia-
betes awareness. With the help of Sr Barnard, we un-
dertake free diabetes screenings on these occasions. I
approached the pharmaceutical companies who work
in the diabetes field, and they have all been very sup-
portive of our work. With their help, we’re also able to
give needy children free access to analogue insulins.’
Sr Barnard underscores that their work is ongoing
and that their patients are continuously monitored
and followed up. ‘We work in close collaboration with
the paediatrician at George Hospital, who has been
wonderfully supportive. We value his contribution. It’s
so rewarding to see patients becoming empowered
and gaining better control of their condition as they
learn the importance of taking their medication as pre-
scribed, counting carbohydrates, taking regular read-
ings of their glucose levels and balancing dietary and
insulin requirements.’
Sometimes the results are gratifyingly rapid. Dr
van Staden recalls one patient who entered their pro-
gramme with an HbA
1c
reading of 9.2%.With the help of
a long-acting insulin and thorough education by Sr Bar-
nard, it dropped to 7.2% in a very short space of time.
Sr Barnard has a particular dream that she hopes
will one day be realised – that of a dedicated ‘diabe-
tes guesthouse’ where the patients and their parents
can spend several days at a time being educated in
a home-like environment. ‘I’ve been using my own
home to date’, she laughs, ‘but even though my hus-
band is very accommodating of the strangers who are
constantly present, it’s not an ideal situation.’
Both of them feel strongly about viewing their patients
as individuals, each with his/her own potential. ‘It’s a
fantastic feeling to know that you’re helping children to
fulfil that potential in the future’, says Dr van Staden.‘It’s
only our second year, so we’re still in the early stages,
but we plan to continue what we’re doing and expand
theprogramme asmuchaswe’re able to’,he concludes.
Peter Wagenaar
Sr Barnard and Dr van Staden (right) receiving their Servier award at the recent CDE
congress in Johannesburg, with Prof Larry Distiller (left) and Rita de Kok from Servier
(second from left).
S Afr J Diabetes Vasc Dis 2010;
7
: 165.
Courtesy of CDE
