Community
When podiatrist Georgia Dacres moved here in 2016, England’s loss was Dunedin’s gain – especially for the diabetes community.
Passionate about
PODIATRY
G
eorgia moved to this country to be closer to her sister who was already here and to give her son ‘a more pastoral, outdoorsy lifestyle than he could get in Britain’. A trained podiatrist, passionate about footcare, she was soon partnering with Diabetes New Zealand Otago to run a low-cost podiatry service. She says, ‘We realise that people living with diabetes often need a regular visit to the podiatrist, and one of those ways that we can help people attend is by just creating a very affordable price.’ EMPOWERING FOOTCARE WORKSHOPS
Another of Georgia’s aims has been developing footcare workshops. She first began running some in England and has continued to do so here. This Diabetes Action Month, she will, for the first time, deliver a workshop focused mainly on locals who live with diabetes and who want to take control of their own footcare on a day-to-day basis. ‘We’re trying to get more people living with diabetes rather than health professionals to come along, although there will be some health professionals.
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Summer 2021
‘It’s going to be very hands on. This is anecdotal, but for most people living with diabetes, when they get that diagnosis, they find that their feet are high in their mind as a place which might possibly go wrong, and very badly. They've often heard, in the background, about gangrene and amputation, and often they're filled with an overwhelming desire to manage that end of their feet, but they don't quite know how to. ‘If I were to say to anyone in the general public, “How do you manage your teeth?” they would say, “Well, brush every day, do this, do that.” But if you ask someone living with diabetes about looking
Georgia wears her Diabetes NZ 'Small Steps' socks – raising money for diabetes. You can buy a pair at www. diabetesactionmonth.org.nz
after their feet, often there’s a blank. ‘They're not sure what to do. They don't want to give up favourite shoes. They may not be able to manage it because they physically cannot reach. And so their feet can be this thing at the end of their body which are slightly threatening, which could go awry because they don't know how to care for them. ‘So in the workshop, I’m going to introduce ways that they can test themselves and self-screen, demonstrate how to cut toenails, go through the variety of nail clipping implements and foot creams that you can get, and so on. ‘We’re trying to give people the tools they need to say, “Right, I’m living with diabetes. This can be a positive experience. I can manage it myself ”… especially when it comes to diabetic feet.’ She says there are all sorts of tips she can show people. ‘There are devices that you can use that can get in between the toes, and, if you can’t see what’s inside your shoe and if it needs cleaning out, you can use a little vacuum cleaner nozzle … things like that. There is all this very practical advice that we can share.’ There is perhaps an extra urgency to ensuring people can
