The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in healthcare systems across Europe and lessons must now be drawn to start building a stronger and more resilient diabetes ecosystem.

To map the challenges faced by people living with diabetes and their relatives/carers, but also to help uncover the innovative actions and solutions which were implemented during the crisis, IDF Europe is now launching two surveys to collate the views and perspectives from both people living with diabetes and healthcare professionals.

Disruptions caused by the current pandemic, such as restrictive lockdown measures, modified living conditions and inadequate access to care have placed a huge burden on people living with diabetes. Recent studies have also demonstrated that people living with diabetes are at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 and figures sadly tend to indicate that people living with diabetes having contracted the disease are more likely to be hospitalised, with potentially, worse outcomes.

Your input, as a person living with diabetes, a carer of a child with diabetes or a healthcare professionals is key to enabling us to act and develop a set of policy recommendations that we will present to national and pan-European policymakers and other relevant diabetes stakeholders, in order to:

• Prepare healthcare systems and the diabetes community to better address a potential second wave of COVID-19 and other health emergencies in the future;
• Use the experiences of people living with diabetes and healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 crisis to achieve lasting systemic change in the way diabetes care is organised and deployed;
• Ensure that diabetes remains a high priority for policymakers and health professionals at all times.

To ensure the views of Irish people with diabetes are considered as part of this initiative, please complete the survey below which will take up to 20 minutes;

• For People With Diabetes  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWDcovid
• For Health Care Professionals  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6WSZ6PS

Thank you in anticipation of your help in completing this survey which will take about 20 minutes of your time.