Quality in Care People's Award Finalists and Winner 2013

Back in August I mentioned something called the Quality in Care Awards, a great opportunity for people involved in all areas of diabetes to vote for the people that have encouraged/helped/educated them with regard to their care/management/treatment.

Last year's winner was the creator of HedgiePricks a service for people with diabetes that looks at the psychological effects of having the condition. The awards are quite broad and as a result of which the finalists came from all different areas. Some of which have even been featured on this blog. But whether they won or not, it's great to know that there are so many positive voices out there, speaking up for those with the condition. Or telling others of their stories in order to inspire. So here's a little bit about the finalists and also the winner!

Finalists...

Laura Cleverly- Creator of the Ninjabetic Group

I know Laura from the Diabetes UK Young Leaders Action Group that we both belong too. She was nominated for being such a great advocate for young people with the condition, especially through the use of social media. If you haven't already you can follow her on twitter on under the name of 'ninjabetic', and from her many tweets it's easy to see how she has inspired others and given support in a way that really suits her audience.

Gavin Griffiths - Type 1 Ultra Marathon Runner

Gavin is another inspirational person that I met in the Diabetes UK Young Leader's Action Group. And he was featured on this blog in the article '30/30 Complete'. Because in aid of Diabetes UK and JDRF Gavin decided to run the length of the UK doing 30 marathons in 30 days and all along the way, people with the condition came out to support and encourage Gavin on his journey. If he doesn't help people realise that you can still do all the things anyone without the condition can and more than no one can! He will also be travelling to Melbourne this Winter for more adventures for diabetes.

Lesley Jordan -INPUTdiabetes

The diabetes community can be quite a small one sometimes, but in a good way. And this weekend by coincidence I had the honour of meeting INPUTdiabetes at the JDRF UK Cardiff walk for the cure event and got to learn a little bit about what they do. They support access to diabetes technology, but especially insulin pumps for the those people who need and want them. Which is a cause close to my heart, and the topic I was speaking about on the radio the other day. It's a relief to know that there are organisations such as this one doing such great work in breaking down the walls to accessing the appropriate care for your condition.

These are a few of the finalists, others included Jacqueline Fosbury a medical psychotherapist in diabetes, Terry Hill the chair of a parents group who have children with diabetes and Sandra Tweddell the treasurer of a support group in the south west. All also very deserving finalists in the QiC people's award.

The Winner...

But the winner of the 2013 QiC People's Award is Nicholas Guerin - Described as an open and honest blogger about the ins and out of his diabetes. Nicholas has had the condition for 21 years and also talks about the areas in which diabetes can be improved. Congratulations to Nick and the finalists for the awards and as I mentioned at the start, it really is great to see how many good people there are fighting the corner of diabetes and getting the recognition that they deserve for it.