Developing quality structured education in diabetes
Providing award-winning training

The DESMOND Family of programmes 

Do you have Type 2 diabetes?

Then Meet DESMOND and discover support aimed at helping you manage your diabetes.

So, who or what is DESMOND?

DESMOND stands for 'Diabetes Education and Self Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed'.

More simply...

• It’s a way of finding out more about Type 2 diabetes.

• It’s a resource to help you manage the changes diabetes will bring to your life.

• It’s an opportunity to meet and share experiences with others.

• DESMOND is a family of Education programmes designed specifically for you.

So, what’s involved?

The DESMOND programmes are a education programmes that are designed to meet your needs are a person with diabetes.

Through the DESMOND national team, there are several variations of the education programmes that are specifically tailored to individual needs.

DESMOND EDUCATION PROGRAMMES:

There are currently 3 (three) Desmond education programmes available throughout the UK and Eire, although which programmes are offered may differ geographically.

• DESMOND Newly Diagnosed
• DESMOND Foundation- (for those who have established diabetes) 
• DESMOND BME- course delivered in Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu and Bengali

DESMOND is pretty unique. It’s an education programme designed to support you, the person with diabetes, to become the expert. The Educators are there to help you increase your knowledge and understanding of what having diabetes will mean for you. But at the end of the day, you will be the person in control and making the decisions.

What will I have to do?

That’s easy! You need to be prepared to attend all the sessions of the DESMOND course.  This is for your benefit, so that you can be sure of having all the information you need.  At the course, you will be one of a group of up to 10 people with Type 2 diabetes who will be taking part.  The DESMOND programme is built around group activities, but there will be opportunities for individuals to speak to an Educator on their own if they wish. You may also be asked to complete some booklets of questions before and after taking part in DESMOND.  This is so we can look at how effective DESMOND is in helping people manage their diabetes.

What will I get out of a DESMOND session?

Quite a lot! As well as getting up-to-date information about diabetes, you will learn practical skills which you may find helpful in managing your diabetes.  An opportunity will be provided to discuss and explore factors relating to diabetes, such as food choices, activity and medication. You will also be able to meet and talk to others in the same situation. At the end of the sessions, every one taking part in DESMOND will have information to take away for reference.

But I’ve never taken part in anything like this before!

For some people, taking an active part in an education programme like DESMOND may seem strange.  But if the word ‘education’ conjures up images of being back in school - think again! In DESMOND sessions, the atmosphere is informal and friendly.

The local DESMOND team running the programme are very approachable and part of their job is to make you feel welcome, and comfortable about attending the programme. If you find the idea of joining in at these sessions too difficult, no one will make you contribute.  But you will get much more out of the sessions if you come prepared to share your experiences, thoughts and opinions. If you would like to bring your partner, a family member or a friend with you to the course - they will be very welcome.

I’m keen to start, so what happens next?

You can Find out if local DESMOND courses are being run in your area.  Use our interactive map to find your local Desmond centre

Booking System

Usually to attend a course there is a booking system that will be specific to your area. You can attend a DESMOND course by recommendation and referral form your GP or by self referral - details of which can be found using our Interactive Map

Your  Local DESMOND team/ coordinator  will contact you with dates, details and directions for the venue where the course is being held. 

After that, simply turn up and take part!