It was all go at the DRWF Wellness 
Weekend this year as the charity handed out its annual prescription of diabetes education and fun at Blackpool between Friday 4th and Monday 7th September.
The premise of the residential wellness weekend is of course to inform people of the best and healthiest choices to make in relation to their diabetes to help manage the condition better. The weekend schedule included many talks by healthcare professionals from the Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Diabetes Specialist Nurses Emma Price and Lyndsay Heap kicked off the session on the Saturday with an informative discussion and an introduction to diabetes.
During the first day there were also talks from Dr Abu A
hmed, Consultant Physician at Blackpool Victoria on medications and retinopathy from Dr Deborah Broadbent, DRWF Editorial Advisory Board member and Director of Diabetic Eye Screening from Liverpool. Teresa Arora, a research scientist from the University of Birmingham joined the programme in the afternoon to talk about sleep disorders and diabetes. There was Tai Chi, swimming and walking to finish off a busy first day of talks.
On the Sunday, Helen Loughnane Diabetes Specialist Dietitian from the Royal Blackburn Hospital kicked off the second day with a talk on food choices, food groups and labelling, always a popular topic with delegates. There was also a chance for delegates to sample Nordic Walking with instructor Catherine Woods in the run up to lunch.
Nurses Emma and Lyndsay from the previous day returned in the afternoon to join Sister Janet Bellis from Blackpool Victoria for a talk on managing diabetes whilst on holiday. All of this after a 12-mile walk for charity the previous night!
The rest of the afternoon was courtesy of the Blackpool Victoria Hospital and was dedicated to foot care with Denise Prestwich, Specialist Podiatrist and Jonathon Mackay, Consultant Physician, who finished off the day with an open question and answers session. This important session gave delegates the chance to raise any queries they had about their diabetes.
It wasn’t all about learning though. During the two 
evenings there was a quiz night, raffle and a special trip to the Blackpool Illuminations. And to round off the weekend there were complimentary tickets for Blackpool Zoo on the Monday morning.
Thanks must go to all of the speakers who came along, including the team at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, and who gave their time voluntarily over the weekend.
Keep your eye on the DRWF website for details about forthcoming DRWF educational events.