Clinics

WHO WILL YOU SEE?

In Wellington, Kenepuru or Kapiti, you will see a diabetes doctor (usually either Dr Carroll, Dr Krebs, Dr Barrington-Ward, Dr Delahunt, Dr Hall or Dr Wilson depending on where you live) but you will no longer have a dietitian or nurse in the room as well. If you need follow up between clinic appointments you will be referred to the dietitian, nurse, psychologist, podiatrist etc

HOW OFTEN WILL YOU BE SEEN?

Appointments are unlikely to be every 3 months like they were in teen clinic. This is where you need to involve your General Practitioner (GP) again. They get a copy of the letter from the clinic appointment which will tell them your insulin types and doses, your HbA1c and any issues.

Inbetween appointments at the diabetes clinic you need to get more prescriptions from your GP. The clinic will not write prescriptions for you. There are some options for choosing a GP if you don’t want to go to the family doctor or you have moved away from home. See the bit about Evolve Youth Health below…

WHAT’S DIFFERENT AT YOUNG ADULT / ADULT CLINIC?

You won’t be seen as often; scripts come from your GP between appointments; you will have to go to the lab for your bloods and urine tests; you need to ask for help if you need it between clinic appointments by contacting your diabetes nurse or asking your GP for a referral if you don’t know who that is.

WHO CAN COME TO APPOINTMENTS WITH YOU?

You can bring a support person – friend, parent – with you but generally the doctor will expect to see you on your own and maybe bring your parent in for the last few minutes of the consultation.

WHAT ELSE AM I EXPECTED TO KNOW?

As you are becoming independent with your diabetes management you need to be sure that you know what to do. You might be really good at the basics – testing, giving insulin, treating hypos – but do you know how to correct a high blood glucose level safely? Can you manage a sick day on your own? How do you deal with alcohol? What are the HbA1c targets for your age group? How will you manage your prescriptions / repeats?

If you don’t know the answers or you’re not sure then please ask your nurse for some more education! We are happy to help you.

WHY DO I NEED TO GO TO DIABETES CLINIC AT ALL?

Diabetes needs you to do your stuff – test, give insulin, treat hypos, eat healthily and exercise! The clinic needs to check how you are doing overall; screen for related diabetes conditions; keep your treatment plan up to date with what’s available in New Zealand; treat any complications.

Wellington staff are now doing diabetes clinics at Student Health, Victoria University and at Evolve Youth Health in downtown Wellington.

PRIMARY CARE OPTIONS – YOU NEED A GP!!

The following options are suggestions for you to use if you have recently moved to Wellington and need a GP, or if you live here already but want to swap to a GP that is not your family doctor.

EVOLVE YOUTH HEALTH SERVICE

Evolve is a youth service based in central Wellington. We offer free & confidential health and social services for young people aged 10-25. We offer a range of services, activities and events in one awesome location to make it as easy as possible for young people to get what they need.

At Evolve everything is free. We won’t judge you or patronise you. We’re really discreet which means we won’t tell other people your business and you don’t have to feel embarrassed about anything here.

Young people are actively involved in keeping it real at Evolve. We have young people as staff members and as volunteers on our Board.

Thousands of young people from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles have visited Evolve since we opened in 2004.

HEALTH CARE

Evolve has a team of friendly, non-judgemental doctors and nurses (clinicians) who provide primary healthcare services to meet pretty much all your health needs including sexual health, mental health, general check-ups, treatment and referrals. Clinics are available at Evolve every weekday and also at some schools around Wellington.

COUNSELLING

Our counsellors come from a range of backgrounds and have different skills and interests to suit different people. You can get a referral from our nurse for up to 6 free counselling sessions if there is something you’d like to talk through or work on with support from a professional.

Counselling sessions are by appointment only.

SOCIAL SUPPORT

We have social workers and youth workers who can help with things like finding a job or somewhere to live. They provide social work, group work, advocacy, information and advice.

YOUTH TEAM

Evolve’s youth team is a diverse group of young people who look after our reception space and lounge areas. They can help arrange appointments, provide peer support and supply information about services at Evolve and elsewhere. They also coordinate projects, events and activities that anyone can join in with. See our website for details of what’s on at Evolve.