PCs, Manitoba Parents Call for Enhanced Type-1 Diabetes Supports for Children
WINNIPEG — Manitoba PCs are joining parents whose children live with Type 1 (T1) diabetes to call on the NDP government to enhance diabetes support in schools and daycares by introducing a mandatory standard of care, as recommended by Diabetes Canada for students living with diabetes.
“Type 1 diabetes is one of the few medical needs that still requires parents to leave work and step into schools to provide routine care. That’s not sustainable,” said Roblin MLA Kathleen Cook, PC Critic for Health. “I met one parent recently who estimated that, from kindergarten to grade 6, she attended her daughter’s school 800 times to administer insulin. Most families simply can’t take on that burden. We can do better.”
Advocates are urging the province to ensure that young children in schools and daycares receive proper support to manage T1 diabetes, including help with insulin administration. Currently in Manitoba, if a child is too young to adjust their insulin pump at lunchtime, school staff cannot assist, forcing parents to leave work to do it. Children whose parents cannot do this may be restricted to older injection methods and miss out on using an insulin pump entirely.
This is not the case everywhere in Canada, however. Provinces such as British Columbia and Nova Scotia require school staff to be trained to support insulin administration. These trained staff work with parents to help young children who cannot adjust their pumps on their own.
“Families have enough struggles today and we need to ensure that children living with diabetes have consistent, safe, and equitable care throughout the school system,” said Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko, PC Critic for Education and Early Childhood Learning. “BC and Nova Scotia have both mandated provincial standards that align with Diabetes Canada’s guidelines. It’s time for Manitoba to catch up before more children with diabetes are left behind.”
MLAs Cook and Ewasko were joined today by Winnipeg parent Micaela Bradford, whose daughter McKinley lives with T1 diabetes.
“Children with Type 1 diabetes who need an adult to administer their insulin at school or daycare do not have the support available. Instead, the responsibility falls to parents,” said Bradford. “I’m a working mom and it is difficult to get to my daughter’s daycare every day to give her insulin, but the alternative is to let her blood glucose run high, causing her to feel sick, sleepy, and irritable.”
In 2021, the previous PC government invested $6 million to pay for advanced glucose monitors and insulin pumps for individuals aged 25 and younger. In 2023, PCs extended coverage to eligible Manitobans of all ages. Also that year, PCs launched a five-year provincial Diabetes Action Plan, supported by Diabetes Canada.
Insulin pumps support better blood glucose management, help reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications, and result in fewer insulin injections.
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