Diabetes UK Northern Ireland

19/12/2025

📣 Are you a mum living with , or have you been diagnosed with during pregnancy within the last 3 years?

Researchers at Ulster University want to hear your experience to help them understand a mum’s perspective on weight change during and after pregnancy for mums diagnosed with diabetes.

📲 Access the anonymous survey: https://orlo.uk/ulster-uni-survey_b2Fvr (estimated time to complete is 8-10 minutes)
🔄 Please share this survey with anyone who may fit the criteria
📧 Feel free to contact the PhD Researcher for more information or if interested in joining a focus group

17/12/2025

Here are some highlights from the last few months of 2025 📸

What a busy end to the year, some photos from our live well day, women's health event and our festive live well hubs! 🎄

We are looking forward to seeing what 2026 has in store with our engaging communities' team. 💙

If you'd like more information, please contact: communityteamni@diabetes.org.uk

12/12/2025

A huge thank you to Ballymore Church of Ireland for their incredible generosity at their recent Carol Service, which raised over £1,000 in support of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland. 🎄

We’re so grateful to everyone who attended, donated, and helped make the evening so special, with beautiful Christmas music from Poyntzpass Silver Band and Hillhouse Choristers.

Your support helps us continue our work across Northern Ireland, supporting people living with diabetes. 💙

A special thank you to our volunteer Jackie Hull, who attended the service and collected the cheque on our behalf.

09/12/2025

What a day at Ark Farm! 🎄🐑

We had a brilliant festive trip recently, where families got to meet Santa, build their own toy, ride the Christmas train to spot all the mischievous elves, and feed the animals. It was a great chance to spend time together and get into the Christmas spirit. 🎅

A huge thank you to Ark Farm for hosting us and helping create such special memories for our families. 💙

If you’d like to hear about future Diabetes UK Northern Ireland family events, please email communityteamni@diabetes.org.uk and we’ll add you to our mailing list.

09/12/2025

The Coleraine Diabetes Support Group have their annual New Year's Day Dip coming up at Castlerock Beach - read more and register 👇

🥶 Dip for Diabetes on New Year’s Day! 🥶

It’s the post you’ve all been waiting for!

The registration for our Dip for Diabetes 2026 is now live!

We’d love to make this our biggest and best dip yet so register now and share with family & friends.

We’ll see you all on 1st January 💙

https://giving.give-star.com/event/diabetes-uk/new-year-s-day-dip-for-diabetes-2026

05/12/2025

Join our next Online Peer Support session for adults living with . This monthly support group is very informal and full of chat - all you need to bring is yourself and a cuppa ☕

If you're aged 18+, living with type 1 diabetes and have access to Zoom, we'd love for you to join us! 💙

📅 Tuesday 9 December
🕖 7.30pm to 8.30pm
💻 Online via Zoom
📧 Register by emailing: communityteamni@diabetes.org.uk

04/12/2025

Thank you to the Queen’s University Belfast School of Pharmacy!

Our incredible volunteers shared their lived experience of diabetes, helping future healthcare professionals understand the realities behind the condition. We also had the chance to highlight some of the CPD opportunities Diabetes UK can offer once HCPs qualify - supporting ongoing learning and confident diabetes care.

If other university cohorts would like a similar session, we’d love to hear from you 📩 N.Ireland@diabetes.org.uk
Queen's University Belfast

03/12/2025

Have you been attending our Live Well Hubs? Here are the dates for December 👇

We'd love to see you at your local Hub! No booking required just come along to meet the team and have a chat with healthcare professionals 💙

Details of each of our Hubs, including locations, can be found on our website: https://orlo.uk/live-well-hubs_ZD9CA

If you'd like more information about our , or you are a healthcare professional that would like to support, please contact: communityteamni@diabetes.org.uk

27/11/2025

Last week we were invited to the Diabetes Research Centre at Ulster University where staff and volunteers got to see some of the current research in diabetes. The team at UU also hosted a tour of the facilities allowing us to see how different programmes work alongside each other for improving outcomes for people living with diabetes.

Thank you to the centre and researchers for showcasing their work and highlighting NI innovation. 🙌

21/11/2025

We're hosting a Women’s health day next weekend and would love it if you could come along 💙

Take a breather with other women at Riverdale Barn, Aghagallon. Relax, connect, and enjoy some me time. Pop by stalls from Tropic, Neal’s Yard, and merchandise from Real Strong Women to browse or purchase yourself up a treat.

The day will involve:
Mindfulness and gentle movement with Sarah from Changing cycles
Creating your own essential oils - with Mandy from Haven@Harvue
And some light refreshments

📅 Sunday 30 November
🕙 10am to 1pm
📍 Riverdale Barn, Aghagallon

🔗 Register and read more: https://orlo.uk/NI-womens-health-event_qdCH8

19/11/2025

Last week we held a drop in event at Stormont to mark . Our staff and volunteers took the opportunity to showcase to MLAs what it is like to live with diabetes and the support on offer from Diabetes UK locally. We also launched our calls to action for the Health Minister to ensure diabetes remains a priority across 2026 and beyond. We asked those who attended to support us with this and appreciate the engagement from all those who came along.

We are calling for the Health Minister to:
- Invest in awareness, prevention and early detection of diabetes
- Increase access to transformative diabetes technology in line with other UK regions
- Improve data monitoring within 12 months, to support funding, service planning, and measuring the impact of diabetes care
- Prioritise diabetes care and services in Northern Ireland beyond 2026 when the 10 year Strategic Framework for diabetes comes to an end

Sinn Féin Ireland Democratic Unionist Party Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Social Democratic and Labour Party

14/11/2025