DRWF Events: Fired up for wellbeing and health support at Diabetes Wellness Day North
Annual event in Hartlepool offered education and resources for people living with diabetes as part of our United Through Diabetes programme.
DRWF recently welcomed supporters and people living with diabetes to the Diabetes Wellness Day North event at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool.
The event provided an interactive and busy morning of discussion, questions and answers, exhibitors, support and information on all aspects of living with diabetes, including type 1, type 2, prediabetes and gestational diabetes, plus family members, friends and those with an interest in the subject.
Following early morning registration, delegates walked along the cobbled lane beside the HMS Trincomalee to the venue for the event, hosted in the Baltic Suite and Sir William Gray Suite where fresh tea, coffee and hot bacon and sausage baps awaited (vegetarian options were also available).
Over breakfast guests enjoyed a networking meeting with people from the diabetes community, and visiting experts from Funky Pumpers, Insulet, Healthwatch, DRWF and more.
Exhibition stands were based in the Baltic Suite among the new Diving Deep: HMS Invincible 1744 exhibition, exploring the fascinating discovery and underwater excavation of HMS Invincible, whose capture revolutionised ship-design for the Royal Navy. The setting provided guests with additional historical reference about the iconic ship that sank after little over a decade of service, only to be rediscovered some 200 years later.
Lee Calladine, DRWF Events Co-ordinator, said: “The under-sea sounds and light effects in this environment made this a unique experience for our delegates and exhibitors.”
Attention then turned to the presentations of the day from invited healthcare professionals and diabetes experts.
Lee said: “Our wonderful colleagues Julie Sinclair, Lead Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Sheree Lyons, Specialist Podiatrist both from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust joined us for the day and lead the first session of the day where we took a deep dive (pardon the pun) into The 15 Essential Checks everyone with diabetes should receive as part of their annual HbA1c and check-ups, followed by some interactive discussion.
“After another free-flow period for refreshments and a visit to the exhibitors we resumed the programme with the popular Diabetes Question Time where Julie and Sheree took all sorts of questions from the audience about so many aspects of living with and managing diabetes. This was a lively and interactive hour and there was no shortage of questions or hands up. We could have carried on all day.
“To conclude the day, we handed out prizes to the raffle winners, signposted everyone to further resources and information at DRWF, The Hartlepool Diabetes Support Group and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and showed everyone out to the quayside, where, by the luck of good timing the museum team were doing a talk and a demonstration firing the cannons.
“It’s not every day you get a gun salute to finish a wellness day!”
On the Friday morning before the wellness day the DRWF team and volunteers visited the Hartlepool Diabetes Support Group where they talked about the work of the charity and answered questions about everything from research to resources and diet to complications and great diabetes management.
Lee remembered the beginnings of the Diabetes Wellness Day North, dating back to 2009: “It was a freezing November day that DRWF and the specialist diabetes team from University Hospital Hartlepool teamed up to hold our first ever event for people in the North East.
“The following years were supported amazingly by Dr Sue Jones, Consultant in Diabetes (retired), Lead Diabetes Specialist Nurse Lisa Doughty (retired) and Anna Lumsden, Diabetes Specialist Dietitian all from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.
“Since then, we have returned every year, apart from during the Covid pandemic when all of our activities came to a grinding halt. However, it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things and resume the event.
“This year we moved to a Spring date for a change, returning to the event’s “home” at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool for our 16th Diabetes Wellness Day.”
Lee added: “We are already looking forward to returning in 2027.”
View all United Through Diabetes events in 2026 here
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