November 30, 2025 • 24 mins
Heather has been at the helm of Diabetes NZ since 2017. She has a strong background in not-for-profit organisations. Since working at Diabetes NZ she has completed a full national unification of the organisation, driving positive change and engagement around the country. Heather has the experience to ensure Diabetes NZ continues to grow its reach into communities and through key stakeholders to improve diabetes awareness, education and advocacy.
Prior to joining Diabetes NZ Heather has held Chief Executive roles with the NZ Police Association and the Manfeild Park Trust, a motor racing circuit and events centre in Manawatū. Heather has also acted as Deputy Chief Executive of the New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection. It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talks ed Bday.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And Welcome to Real Life. I'm John Cowan and my
guest tonight is someone who might help you. I'm sure
she wants to. She's the CEO of Diabetes New Zealand. Heather.
Very welcome, Heather.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Oh good evening, please to be here now.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
This to be the end of a very busy month
for you. Tell us how it's gone.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Oh, yes, you're absolutely right. This is November is.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
When we advocate and make people aware of diabetes. It's
called our Diabetes Action Month because we actually want people
to take action from the messaging that we're giving to them.
So this year we did the same that young people
can also get diabetes.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Just make people aware that.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Where they generally know that type one, which is an
autoimmune condition that's normally for you, that you get when
they're young, but also youngsters can also get type two,
which is an intergenerational one, and this is a new
condition which is very challenging because it's very aggressive.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So why do you care?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Can I just interrupt you and just ask you what
why do you call it intergenerational?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Because we're seeing children at the age of eight get it.
So whereas people have commonly called Taptoo's lifestyle, that's certainly
not the case for an eight year old, and it's
generally what the evidence is showing that the mother has
had has type two diabetes and that has become genetics.
(02:03):
So that's what we call the intergeneration intergenerational.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Okay, So it's not so much that lifestyle things that
cause them parents to have diabetes generally within the household,
and so if they're eating poor diets, the children will
as well. Is it intergenerational on that aspect as well
as well?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes, it's the combined things.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But you know, they're not always the children that are
the most overweight in the classroom or by any means.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You know, they're not those ones.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
So that's why we're saying it's it is an intergener
intergenerational one. Okay, Yeah, and it can be culture and
lifestyle and absolutely, but as a young eight year old,
you know, it's a lot things are determining why they're
getting typed to.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And so what sort of outcomes do you see with
kids that get diabetes.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Unless they're picked up really early and some intervention and
supports given to them those kids, because it's so aggressive
that the chances are they could well end up being
in the renal unit with kidney disease by the time
they're eighteen. So whereas you know years ago, two was
(03:19):
something you saw in adults, you know, something like over eighty,
over fifty or sixty, and.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
It takes about ten.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Years quite often for it to sort of it's a
slowly moving one that to you get pre diabetes and
then you end up with diabetes, and then if you
don't manage your diabetes, that's when you lead to these complications.
And of course if you're getting diabetes at fifty, the
chances of getting the complications are probably not quite so
real as they are when you're getting diabetes when you're eight.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, and diabetes just wax the whole body, doesn't it
That you can become blind, of lose limbs, all sorts
of terrible things.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Absolutely, yes, cardiovascular and as I said, renal disease, stroke,
and yes, low limb amputations too. There's about four hundred
a year, which a lot of which could be prevented.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Okay, that's the I suppose the message you really want
to get across that this can be prevented. And so
you're saying this is Diabetes Action Month. Whatever actions do
you want people to take.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Well, we'd like to go to our website. There's a
no you Risk test that you can take, and if
you're showing that you have got a high risk of diabetes,
then you need to go and see your GP and
ensure that you are tested. There's also just be aware
that it's time to start looking at your lifestyle and
(04:46):
you can actually do something about it.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Right diabetes dot org dot NZ if you're wanting to
get helped, or maybe you're wanting to help, because it
is a not for profit organization and I'm sure that
they would be looking for people to support them. Are
going to be talking more later in the in this
program about the not for profit sector and the amazing
things they do in the and that's very underappreciated, undersupported,
(05:12):
and so I want to talk to hither a bit
about that. But coming back to diabetes, how prevalent is it,
how wides how many New Zealanders have diabetes?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Well, the records show that there's about three hundred and
fifty thousand that are diagnosed with diabetes. If you start
to think about those that are undiagnosed and those that
have pre diabetes, the estimat is probably around a million people.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Good heavens well, just doing some back of the envelope calculations,
I reckon that that means that six hundred people listening
to his program right now know that they have diabetes,
and you probably reckon probably have a thousand if they
bother to check. So yeah, sit forward in your chair, folks,
(05:59):
because this is possibly talking about you. I know it's
talking about me. I was sort of pre diabetic and
managed to push it back. And my wife's had diabetes
as a result of you know, suppression drugs that she
had to take for a transplant, and that nudged her
into diabetes. But she's out of that again. So it's
it's it's not something that you don't come across it.
(06:20):
It's it's remarkably prevalent.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, it certainly is, and you're right.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
I'm often asked to go and talk to different clubs
like lines clubs and rotary and it's always interesting how
when they start to ask questions. You start to figure
out how many actually have got type. And you know
when I start to try and wake them up and say,
are you aware that you need to keep checking your feet?
You know, a small tiny saw on your foot put
(06:49):
end up with you having all limp amputation and.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Your life excetency after that is not that long. It
can be five years. The realization really they react quite hard.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
They say, oh, my gosh, this is really serious, and
I say, yes, it's actually serious.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You do need to take it seriously.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
You can't just pull the all over your eyes and
just pretend it's not there. You need to actually do
something about it and so that you can lead a
healthier life.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Well.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
As a card carrying hypochondriac, I subscribe to the Disease
of the Month Club. What symptoms can I look out
for to think, ah, yeah, this could be diabetes creeping
up on me.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Well, look, one of the key ones is being constantly thirsty,
constantly going to the toilet more regularly, feeling lethargic, and
sometimes which sounds strange that you often start to lose
weight when you don't expect to lose weight, but generally
that the key ones are thirsty, going to the toilet
(07:51):
and generally feeling quite lethargic.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Right, And so you've said that this is increasing in
New Zealand why do you think it's increasing? Are are
we just getting worse at eating?
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Is that the a whole Well, yeah, I think unfortunately
the type of foods that we're indulging in, takeaways and
processed foods just doesn't help. And sometimes you know, the
people are working long hours, parents that both parents are working,
and just sometimes it's easier to go and get a
(08:29):
bucket of KFC or the fish and chips rather than
taking time out to make a healthy dinner with a
lot of vegetables. And also we do know that vegetables
can be expensive, so that makes it a little harder.
And I think there's generally people don't actually aren't aware
that potatoes and rice and white bread they are actually
(08:51):
sugar and they are watched contributing towards this whole lifestyle.
And also we're an aging population, so there are going
to be more people with diabetes. But we did a
study some years ago with PwC and in partnership with
other organizations, and the results showed that the prevalence of
(09:14):
diabetes was going type two was going to increase between
seventy and ninety percent over twenty years. Since we've done that,
the data is showing that we're certainly sitting at the
ninety percent. So it's really quite and this is this
is a global issue. It is not just New Zealand.
This is global and it does mean that countries have
(09:36):
to take some really serious interventions and some have You know,
in England they're starting to stem the tide of bit
because of some interventions that they have put in place
some years ago because they knew that it was going
to be a huge burden on their health system.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, it must make a lot of sense to to
stem the tide if you can. So how are they
stemming the tide? What could we pick up from them?
Are they what are they doing?
Speaker 5 (10:02):
Well?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
They're doing in an intervention which picks people up when
they're sort of diagnosed or pre diabetes and they put
them into a two year program where they can continue
to monitor them, get them into movement nutrition advice and
they monitor them for the two years. And because it's
a two year program, it means that people don't sort
(10:24):
of fall off the side of the cliff. You know,
sometime when you're doing it, you suddenly after a few
weeks you'll think, oh, this is all too hard. So
because they're constantly monitored and for two years they are
starting to see really good success. Yeah, we've done it
sort of farmic like a year ago. Funded CGMS, which
(10:45):
is a continuous glucose monitors. Now that's going to make
it's making a huge difference for the lives of type ones.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I was going to ask you if there's some good
news in the diabetes field, and that sounds like excellent news.
So that replaces all the pricking of the fingers that
people have to.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Do, absolutely and it means that they and they also
will get alerts through their phone so that they know
that they're perhaps going hail low and they can address it.
We think it's stopping something like fifty two thousand dollars
a week in saving on costs because of the fact
that it's saving the potential for all these complications they
(11:26):
or delay them, if not stop them, and also hospitalization
because quite often even if someone's still managing their diabetes
fairly well, does things happen and they often end up
sometimes about four times a year. And we factored that
in to be about eighty thousand dollars per person for that.
(11:47):
So these cgms are will already be starting to have influence.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
They are paying for themselves.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
One of the things that I saw about that was
that it was being rolled out to people with type
one diabetes, but not type two. Now, if one of
the big problems that diabetics face, and I've heard that
this is the case, is stigmatization, that they feel guilty
about being diabetic. If they feel that you're accusing me
(12:15):
because I've got type two, because I deserve it, Surely
discriminating against people are able to get this type of
machine that helps them out. Surely that's adding the discrimination.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Well, you're right, Stigma is very much part of diabetes,
which doesn't help because then people tend to ignore it,
specially tactos and type ones. You know, if they're seem
to be eating sweets, people say, well, if you don't
eat the sweets, you wouldn't have diabetes. But they need
it to bring their blood sugar levels up fairly quickly.
(12:49):
So look, we as an organization that's Diabetes New Zealand,
we have been advocating for seven years for these cgms,
and we didn't advocate just for type ones. We advocated
for all people on instulin. So we've taken a huge step.
We're very grateful to pharmac for doing it and for
doing everyone for type one, not just the staged approach
(13:10):
which other countries did. But as I have indicated to
farm it, we're now coming at them big time to
do to fun typetoos.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
It must be the simplest decision when you look at
how much money it's going to save the country from
keeping people out of hospital. But the other thing is,
I just think of these poor kiddies that have to
that might be, you know, because type one especially. I
suppose they're little kids and they're only you know, a
couple of years old, and they've got diabetes, like I
think Dame Valerie Adams has got a child and having
(13:42):
to get all those fingerpricks. I don't know how many
times a day, how many times a day would a little.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Tot be eight to ten times a day, eight.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
To ten times a day are pricking the finger to
draw a bit of blood. That's going to get you down.
And so if these machines save a kiddy from that,
that's that'd be fantastic.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Yeah, Well, They actually are hugely impactful on the whole
family because parents were needing to wait their children early
in the night and prick their fingers to check their
blood sugar levels. Now they don't have to there their
phones will be alarmed to tell them what's happening. But
that was just you know, disrupting not only the child's
(14:22):
sleep but also the parents sleep. The parents never got
a full might sleep, nor did the child.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
That sounds wretched. My guest tonight is have a very
who CEO of Diabetes New Zealand. You can find out
more about Diabetes New Zealand on their website Diabetes dot
org dot m Z. But in the second half I'm
going to talk more about Heather herself and the not
for profit sector. I'm John Cown. This is real life
on Newstalk s ED BB back with you in a moment,
(14:48):
in a couple of.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Moments, intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on
Newstalk s ED.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Welcome back, this is real life. I'm on count I'm talking.
We have a very CEO of Diabetes New Zealand and
that's her choice of music. So this obviously puts you
in the same archaeological strata as myself. You're a fan
of the Monkeys.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I was some years ago.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I used to go camping and we were woken up
to that song. So it sort of remained with me
as a favorite for many years, all right.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, considering it was just meant to be a
silly comedy, they put out some great music. I really
enjoyed them. So we were talking in the first half
about diabetes and the work that well, actually we didn't
talk much about what diabetes New Zealand does, but you're
in there behind this, behind the scenes, supporting communities and
professionals and the people with diabetes.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And yeah, yeah, absolutely, We've got our rollers to provide
awareness and education. So we are the only national diabetes
or charity. So we have a small contract with government
to produce all the brochures that you will if you
get diabetes you'll be given.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
And we also.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Look after we get referrals for the newly diagnosed young ones.
We have youth coordinators throughout New Zealand that connect up
with the children and also connect the parents up and
connect the parents with each other. Nothing better than for
our parents to talk to other parents to find out
what it is actually like to have a child with diabetes,
and we give them special newly diagnosed packs at the
(16:43):
time of diagnosis which they take away, which has sort
of got like a little bible, tabletop bible and all
sorts of things. We're also very embedded in communities across
New Zealand with our CARFENA teams, which are diabetes community
coordinators and they work with the Long Term Conditions Teams
with EWE Married Providers, Health Providers PHOS and work with
(17:08):
a FANO and people with diabetes type two diabetes, and
we run what we call diabetes self management education programs.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Look, I can hear the passion in your voice. It's
a fantastic work you're doing. And as you're talking, I'm
thinking you talked about over three hundred thousand people of
diabetes in New Zealand, possibly up to a million if
they're all diagnosed, And I'm thinking of another group of
New Zealanders who about the same size. Over three hundred
thousand people who work directly in the not for profit sector,
(17:41):
About six percent of the workforce work in charities, work
in organizations providing health or education, or cultural support or sports,
and about one hundred and fifty thousand are paid and
one hundred and seventy thousand are unpaid, giving over one
point four million hours of work every week. And this
(18:02):
is just invisible to most of us. And so hats
off to you, Heather. You know it's and I just
want to talk a little bit about the motivations of
people like yourself to stay in the sector because an
industrial psychologist I spoke to he said two things. First
of all, you're always paid less than people in the
private sector, and you work harder, So you don't have
(18:26):
to be either dumb or passionate to stay in working
in that conditions. I imagine it's passion.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
You absolutely have to be passionate about the cause.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
And when I left my previous job and was looking,
I there were a number of jobs at the time,
and I just wasn't that interested in them at all.
And I've never been in the corporate world and never
really wanted to go into it. For me, there had
to be a cause, a reason for me to be working,
and diabetes at that time seemed to be for me.
(18:57):
It was a growing condition and it was something I
thought I could get my teeth into and try and
try and help to make a difference because and that's Look,
when I employed Starff, I always say, for goodness sake,
if you think you're coming to a corporate you're not.
If you think you're going to be hardly paid, you're not.
You have to be you have to want to support people,
(19:18):
you have to be heavily invested on. That's tart of
things in order for you to enjoy your job. And
all our staff.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Are like that. Well, that's absolutely shout up with a passion.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
That is a sub compensation for taking a smaller salary
is that you get to work alongside people like that,
people who want to be there, people who would be there,
you know, because they're loving what they're doing. As well
as helping six sick people. I don't think it'd be
unfair to say that you help sick organizations because you've
(19:50):
helped a couple of not for profit organizations turn around
and get back up on their feet. You worked at
Manfield and you left that in a lot better shape
than when you found it, and.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Oh, you've done your homework. That was that was.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
It's because I'd been in the social services sector for
ten years and I thought it's time I went out
and had some fun, and so I got sort of
approached about the job at Manfield, and at first I said, oh,
I don't want to run a motorsports circuit. And I
think they thought that I was at petrol Head because
I had been in the event industry and one of
my last jobs was was the event company that ran
(20:29):
the last Wellington streetcar race. So anyway, what appealed to
me was they had just built this beautiful, amazing stadium.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
It's one single span buildings in New Zealand, but.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
They built it to high spec, but they hadn't managed
to finish it off and it was leaking money like
you wouldn't believe when I went there. So it was
a real challenge in itself just finish off the infrastructure.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
I had to build roads, I had to build.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Stables for horses and you know, all sorts of things,
and then seals the circuit because that needed doing. So yeah,
I used to just I was constantly looking for money.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
And the first thing I did was I sold a
bit of land at List.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I had some land and that sort of helped get
rid of some of the commercial debt.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I bet the council were a little bit surprised, did
we didn't we give you this land.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Yeah, they ended up spying back a bit of what
they gave me, you exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But what I'm saying is that you've you've actually had
a whole life devoted to this. You started off what
was netball and a life skills program, what was it?
Life education trust? Working for victim support? Did you need
victim support yourself after the earthquake?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Probably did well, funnally enough that christ earthquake. I was
actually I crashed down.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Around you, didn't it?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Sure? Yeah? And I was actually there on Manfield business.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
And the good thing was I actually happened to be
there someone who was with.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
With the Air Force, and I.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Managed to get back on a Hercules. It was the
most interesting day that I wouldn't like to repeat, to
be quite honest.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
But so there's all these things that you've been involved in,
and I'm just wondering, is there anything that you can
point to in your upbringing, your childhood, some influential person
that would sort of shape you so that you're a
person that would have a life of service rather than
just chasing the bucks? Can you point to anything?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
And look, I think my parents had a huge influence
on my upbringing, and I was very fortunate to go
to a very caring school. I went to Kreeen Margaret
College and I was there for ten years, so literally,
you know, that was my.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Whole life longer coaching you did.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Well, Yes, I did go back and coach then Evil
team and stay very committed to the old girls.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
And then of course the.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Daughter went there, so yeah, I had that was I
was very lucky to be in that sort of environment
and I think that just sort of yeah, that just
sort of helped my life.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And yeah, well here.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
There has been lovely talking to you and I wish
you all the best and sending people off to diabetes
dot org dot nz to find out their risks and
perhaps work out well how they can perhaps help as well.
And we'll go out on another song that you've picked
and it's a Strawberriefir Simon and Garfunkle. This is real life.
Looking forward to being back with you again next Sunday.
Thank you so much, Heather, Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
She once was the true love of mine.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio,
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection. It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talks ed Bday.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And Welcome to Real Life. I'm John Cowan and my
guest tonight is someone who might help you. I'm sure
she wants to. She's the CEO of Diabetes New Zealand. Heather.
Very welcome, Heather.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Oh good evening, please to be here now.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
This to be the end of a very busy month
for you. Tell us how it's gone.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Oh, yes, you're absolutely right. This is November is.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
When we advocate and make people aware of diabetes. It's
called our Diabetes Action Month because we actually want people
to take action from the messaging that we're giving to them.
So this year we did the same that young people
can also get diabetes.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Just make people aware that.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Where they generally know that type one, which is an
autoimmune condition that's normally for you, that you get when
they're young, but also youngsters can also get type two,
which is an intergenerational one, and this is a new
condition which is very challenging because it's very aggressive.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So why do you care?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Can I just interrupt you and just ask you what
why do you call it intergenerational?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Because we're seeing children at the age of eight get it.
So whereas people have commonly called Taptoo's lifestyle, that's certainly
not the case for an eight year old, and it's
generally what the evidence is showing that the mother has
had has type two diabetes and that has become genetics.
(02:03):
So that's what we call the intergeneration intergenerational.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Okay, So it's not so much that lifestyle things that
cause them parents to have diabetes generally within the household,
and so if they're eating poor diets, the children will
as well. Is it intergenerational on that aspect as well
as well?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes, it's the combined things.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
But you know, they're not always the children that are
the most overweight in the classroom or by any means.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You know, they're not those ones.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
So that's why we're saying it's it is an intergener
intergenerational one. Okay, Yeah, and it can be culture and
lifestyle and absolutely, but as a young eight year old,
you know, it's a lot things are determining why they're
getting typed to.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And so what sort of outcomes do you see with
kids that get diabetes.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Unless they're picked up really early and some intervention and
supports given to them those kids, because it's so aggressive
that the chances are they could well end up being
in the renal unit with kidney disease by the time
they're eighteen. So whereas you know years ago, two was
(03:19):
something you saw in adults, you know, something like over eighty,
over fifty or sixty, and.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
It takes about ten.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Years quite often for it to sort of it's a
slowly moving one that to you get pre diabetes and
then you end up with diabetes, and then if you
don't manage your diabetes, that's when you lead to these complications.
And of course if you're getting diabetes at fifty, the
chances of getting the complications are probably not quite so
real as they are when you're getting diabetes when you're eight.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, and diabetes just wax the whole body, doesn't it
That you can become blind, of lose limbs, all sorts
of terrible things.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Absolutely, yes, cardiovascular and as I said, renal disease, stroke,
and yes, low limb amputations too. There's about four hundred
a year, which a lot of which could be prevented.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Okay, that's the I suppose the message you really want
to get across that this can be prevented. And so
you're saying this is Diabetes Action Month. Whatever actions do
you want people to take.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Well, we'd like to go to our website. There's a
no you Risk test that you can take, and if
you're showing that you have got a high risk of diabetes,
then you need to go and see your GP and
ensure that you are tested. There's also just be aware
that it's time to start looking at your lifestyle and
(04:46):
you can actually do something about it.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Right diabetes dot org dot NZ if you're wanting to
get helped, or maybe you're wanting to help, because it
is a not for profit organization and I'm sure that
they would be looking for people to support them. Are
going to be talking more later in the in this
program about the not for profit sector and the amazing
things they do in the and that's very underappreciated, undersupported,
(05:12):
and so I want to talk to hither a bit
about that. But coming back to diabetes, how prevalent is it,
how wides how many New Zealanders have diabetes?
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Well, the records show that there's about three hundred and
fifty thousand that are diagnosed with diabetes. If you start
to think about those that are undiagnosed and those that
have pre diabetes, the estimat is probably around a million people.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Good heavens well, just doing some back of the envelope calculations,
I reckon that that means that six hundred people listening
to his program right now know that they have diabetes,
and you probably reckon probably have a thousand if they
bother to check. So yeah, sit forward in your chair, folks,
(05:59):
because this is possibly talking about you. I know it's
talking about me. I was sort of pre diabetic and
managed to push it back. And my wife's had diabetes
as a result of you know, suppression drugs that she
had to take for a transplant, and that nudged her
into diabetes. But she's out of that again. So it's
it's it's not something that you don't come across it.
(06:20):
It's it's remarkably prevalent.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, it certainly is, and you're right.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
I'm often asked to go and talk to different clubs
like lines clubs and rotary and it's always interesting how
when they start to ask questions. You start to figure
out how many actually have got type. And you know
when I start to try and wake them up and say,
are you aware that you need to keep checking your feet?
You know, a small tiny saw on your foot put
(06:49):
end up with you having all limp amputation and.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Your life excetency after that is not that long. It
can be five years. The realization really they react quite hard.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
They say, oh, my gosh, this is really serious, and
I say, yes, it's actually serious.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
You do need to take it seriously.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
You can't just pull the all over your eyes and
just pretend it's not there. You need to actually do
something about it and so that you can lead a
healthier life.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Well.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
As a card carrying hypochondriac, I subscribe to the Disease
of the Month Club. What symptoms can I look out
for to think, ah, yeah, this could be diabetes creeping
up on me.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
Well, look, one of the key ones is being constantly thirsty,
constantly going to the toilet more regularly, feeling lethargic, and
sometimes which sounds strange that you often start to lose
weight when you don't expect to lose weight, but generally
that the key ones are thirsty, going to the toilet
(07:51):
and generally feeling quite lethargic.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Right, And so you've said that this is increasing in
New Zealand why do you think it's increasing? Are are
we just getting worse at eating?
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Is that the a whole Well, yeah, I think unfortunately
the type of foods that we're indulging in, takeaways and
processed foods just doesn't help. And sometimes you know, the
people are working long hours, parents that both parents are working,
and just sometimes it's easier to go and get a
(08:29):
bucket of KFC or the fish and chips rather than
taking time out to make a healthy dinner with a
lot of vegetables. And also we do know that vegetables
can be expensive, so that makes it a little harder.
And I think there's generally people don't actually aren't aware
that potatoes and rice and white bread they are actually
(08:51):
sugar and they are watched contributing towards this whole lifestyle.
And also we're an aging population, so there are going
to be more people with diabetes. But we did a
study some years ago with PwC and in partnership with
other organizations, and the results showed that the prevalence of
(09:14):
diabetes was going type two was going to increase between
seventy and ninety percent over twenty years. Since we've done that,
the data is showing that we're certainly sitting at the
ninety percent. So it's really quite and this is this
is a global issue. It is not just New Zealand.
This is global and it does mean that countries have
(09:36):
to take some really serious interventions and some have You know,
in England they're starting to stem the tide of bit
because of some interventions that they have put in place
some years ago because they knew that it was going
to be a huge burden on their health system.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, it must make a lot of sense to to
stem the tide if you can. So how are they
stemming the tide? What could we pick up from them?
Are they what are they doing?
Speaker 5 (10:02):
Well?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
They're doing in an intervention which picks people up when
they're sort of diagnosed or pre diabetes and they put
them into a two year program where they can continue
to monitor them, get them into movement nutrition advice and
they monitor them for the two years. And because it's
a two year program, it means that people don't sort
(10:24):
of fall off the side of the cliff. You know,
sometime when you're doing it, you suddenly after a few
weeks you'll think, oh, this is all too hard. So
because they're constantly monitored and for two years they are
starting to see really good success. Yeah, we've done it
sort of farmic like a year ago. Funded CGMS, which
(10:45):
is a continuous glucose monitors. Now that's going to make
it's making a huge difference for the lives of type ones.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I was going to ask you if there's some good
news in the diabetes field, and that sounds like excellent news.
So that replaces all the pricking of the fingers that
people have to.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Do, absolutely and it means that they and they also
will get alerts through their phone so that they know
that they're perhaps going hail low and they can address it.
We think it's stopping something like fifty two thousand dollars
a week in saving on costs because of the fact
that it's saving the potential for all these complications they
(11:26):
or delay them, if not stop them, and also hospitalization
because quite often even if someone's still managing their diabetes
fairly well, does things happen and they often end up
sometimes about four times a year. And we factored that
in to be about eighty thousand dollars per person for that.
(11:47):
So these cgms are will already be starting to have influence.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
They are paying for themselves.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
One of the things that I saw about that was
that it was being rolled out to people with type
one diabetes, but not type two. Now, if one of
the big problems that diabetics face, and I've heard that
this is the case, is stigmatization, that they feel guilty
about being diabetic. If they feel that you're accusing me
(12:15):
because I've got type two, because I deserve it, Surely
discriminating against people are able to get this type of
machine that helps them out. Surely that's adding the discrimination.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Well, you're right, Stigma is very much part of diabetes,
which doesn't help because then people tend to ignore it,
specially tactos and type ones. You know, if they're seem
to be eating sweets, people say, well, if you don't
eat the sweets, you wouldn't have diabetes. But they need
it to bring their blood sugar levels up fairly quickly.
(12:49):
So look, we as an organization that's Diabetes New Zealand,
we have been advocating for seven years for these cgms,
and we didn't advocate just for type ones. We advocated
for all people on instulin. So we've taken a huge step.
We're very grateful to pharmac for doing it and for
doing everyone for type one, not just the staged approach
(13:10):
which other countries did. But as I have indicated to
farm it, we're now coming at them big time to
do to fun typetoos.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
It must be the simplest decision when you look at
how much money it's going to save the country from
keeping people out of hospital. But the other thing is,
I just think of these poor kiddies that have to
that might be, you know, because type one especially. I
suppose they're little kids and they're only you know, a
couple of years old, and they've got diabetes, like I
think Dame Valerie Adams has got a child and having
(13:42):
to get all those fingerpricks. I don't know how many
times a day, how many times a day would a little.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Tot be eight to ten times a day, eight.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
To ten times a day are pricking the finger to
draw a bit of blood. That's going to get you down.
And so if these machines save a kiddy from that,
that's that'd be fantastic.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Yeah, Well, They actually are hugely impactful on the whole
family because parents were needing to wait their children early
in the night and prick their fingers to check their
blood sugar levels. Now they don't have to there their
phones will be alarmed to tell them what's happening. But
that was just you know, disrupting not only the child's
(14:22):
sleep but also the parents sleep. The parents never got
a full might sleep, nor did the child.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
That sounds wretched. My guest tonight is have a very
who CEO of Diabetes New Zealand. You can find out
more about Diabetes New Zealand on their website Diabetes dot
org dot m Z. But in the second half I'm
going to talk more about Heather herself and the not
for profit sector. I'm John Cown. This is real life
on Newstalk s ED BB back with you in a moment,
(14:48):
in a couple of.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Moments, intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on
Newstalk s ED.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Welcome back, this is real life. I'm on count I'm talking.
We have a very CEO of Diabetes New Zealand and
that's her choice of music. So this obviously puts you
in the same archaeological strata as myself. You're a fan
of the Monkeys.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I was some years ago.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I used to go camping and we were woken up
to that song. So it sort of remained with me
as a favorite for many years, all right.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, considering it was just meant to be a
silly comedy, they put out some great music. I really
enjoyed them. So we were talking in the first half
about diabetes and the work that well, actually we didn't
talk much about what diabetes New Zealand does, but you're
in there behind this, behind the scenes, supporting communities and
professionals and the people with diabetes.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
And yeah, yeah, absolutely, We've got our rollers to provide
awareness and education. So we are the only national diabetes
or charity. So we have a small contract with government
to produce all the brochures that you will if you
get diabetes you'll be given.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
And we also.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Look after we get referrals for the newly diagnosed young ones.
We have youth coordinators throughout New Zealand that connect up
with the children and also connect the parents up and
connect the parents with each other. Nothing better than for
our parents to talk to other parents to find out
what it is actually like to have a child with diabetes,
and we give them special newly diagnosed packs at the
(16:43):
time of diagnosis which they take away, which has sort
of got like a little bible, tabletop bible and all
sorts of things. We're also very embedded in communities across
New Zealand with our CARFENA teams, which are diabetes community
coordinators and they work with the Long Term Conditions Teams
with EWE Married Providers, Health Providers PHOS and work with
(17:08):
a FANO and people with diabetes type two diabetes, and
we run what we call diabetes self management education programs.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Look, I can hear the passion in your voice. It's
a fantastic work you're doing. And as you're talking, I'm
thinking you talked about over three hundred thousand people of
diabetes in New Zealand, possibly up to a million if
they're all diagnosed, And I'm thinking of another group of
New Zealanders who about the same size. Over three hundred
thousand people who work directly in the not for profit sector,
(17:41):
About six percent of the workforce work in charities, work
in organizations providing health or education, or cultural support or sports,
and about one hundred and fifty thousand are paid and
one hundred and seventy thousand are unpaid, giving over one
point four million hours of work every week. And this
(18:02):
is just invisible to most of us. And so hats
off to you, Heather. You know it's and I just
want to talk a little bit about the motivations of
people like yourself to stay in the sector because an
industrial psychologist I spoke to he said two things. First
of all, you're always paid less than people in the
private sector, and you work harder, So you don't have
(18:26):
to be either dumb or passionate to stay in working
in that conditions. I imagine it's passion.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
You absolutely have to be passionate about the cause.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
And when I left my previous job and was looking,
I there were a number of jobs at the time,
and I just wasn't that interested in them at all.
And I've never been in the corporate world and never
really wanted to go into it. For me, there had
to be a cause, a reason for me to be working,
and diabetes at that time seemed to be for me.
(18:57):
It was a growing condition and it was something I
thought I could get my teeth into and try and
try and help to make a difference because and that's Look,
when I employed Starff, I always say, for goodness sake,
if you think you're coming to a corporate you're not.
If you think you're going to be hardly paid, you're not.
You have to be you have to want to support people,
(19:18):
you have to be heavily invested on. That's tart of
things in order for you to enjoy your job. And
all our staff.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Are like that. Well, that's absolutely shout up with a passion.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
That is a sub compensation for taking a smaller salary
is that you get to work alongside people like that,
people who want to be there, people who would be there,
you know, because they're loving what they're doing. As well
as helping six sick people. I don't think it'd be
unfair to say that you help sick organizations because you've
(19:50):
helped a couple of not for profit organizations turn around
and get back up on their feet. You worked at
Manfield and you left that in a lot better shape
than when you found it, and.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Oh, you've done your homework. That was that was.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
It's because I'd been in the social services sector for
ten years and I thought it's time I went out
and had some fun, and so I got sort of
approached about the job at Manfield, and at first I said, oh,
I don't want to run a motorsports circuit. And I
think they thought that I was at petrol Head because
I had been in the event industry and one of
my last jobs was was the event company that ran
(20:29):
the last Wellington streetcar race. So anyway, what appealed to
me was they had just built this beautiful, amazing stadium.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
It's one single span buildings in New Zealand, but.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
They built it to high spec, but they hadn't managed
to finish it off and it was leaking money like
you wouldn't believe when I went there. So it was
a real challenge in itself just finish off the infrastructure.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
I had to build roads, I had to build.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Stables for horses and you know, all sorts of things,
and then seals the circuit because that needed doing. So yeah,
I used to just I was constantly looking for money.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
And the first thing I did was I sold a
bit of land at List.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I had some land and that sort of helped get
rid of some of the commercial debt.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I bet the council were a little bit surprised, did
we didn't we give you this land.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Yeah, they ended up spying back a bit of what
they gave me, you exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But what I'm saying is that you've you've actually had
a whole life devoted to this. You started off what
was netball and a life skills program, what was it?
Life education trust? Working for victim support? Did you need
victim support yourself after the earthquake?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Probably did well, funnally enough that christ earthquake. I was
actually I crashed down.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Around you, didn't it?
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Sure? Yeah? And I was actually there on Manfield business.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
And the good thing was I actually happened to be
there someone who was with.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
With the Air Force, and I.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Managed to get back on a Hercules. It was the
most interesting day that I wouldn't like to repeat, to
be quite honest.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
But so there's all these things that you've been involved in,
and I'm just wondering, is there anything that you can
point to in your upbringing, your childhood, some influential person
that would sort of shape you so that you're a
person that would have a life of service rather than
just chasing the bucks? Can you point to anything?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
And look, I think my parents had a huge influence
on my upbringing, and I was very fortunate to go
to a very caring school. I went to Kreeen Margaret
College and I was there for ten years, so literally,
you know, that was my.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Whole life longer coaching you did.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Well, Yes, I did go back and coach then Evil
team and stay very committed to the old girls.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
And then of course the.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Daughter went there, so yeah, I had that was I
was very lucky to be in that sort of environment
and I think that just sort of yeah, that just
sort of helped my life.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And yeah, well here.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
There has been lovely talking to you and I wish
you all the best and sending people off to diabetes
dot org dot nz to find out their risks and
perhaps work out well how they can perhaps help as well.
And we'll go out on another song that you've picked
and it's a Strawberriefir Simon and Garfunkle. This is real life.
Looking forward to being back with you again next Sunday.
Thank you so much, Heather, Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
She once was the true love of mine.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
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