Working with diabetes
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Dan Seymour is proud to
work for Essex Police and delighted that a new medical innovation
will help him do his job even better.
Photo: PCSO Dan Seymour
Dan has diabetes and is the first officer in the county to wear an
insulin pump to help manage his body chemistry day and night.
Dan has been a PCSO for three-and-a-half years, working various
beats in Witham, and was diagnosed with Type One diabetes before
joining the force.
Until recently he was on a routine of four insulin injections a
day, and the changing shift patterns and unpredictable nature of
police work, made this quite disruptive.
Then, last summer, he
enrolled on the BERTIE (Broomfield’s Education Resources for
Training in Insulin and Eating) programme run by Broomfield
Hospital in Chelmsford, which aims to help people with diabetes to
manage the condition more effectively.
Dan explains: “It was a four day course run over four weeks, and
it helped me to understand how I could take more control of my
diabetes, particularly through counting the carbohydrates I was
eating and using this information to help calculate the amount of
insulin I needed.
"With the knowledge I gained, I was able get my body chemistry,
particularly the sugars, into a stable and manageable range.
And this meant I could stop the injections and start using an
insulin pump.”
The pump is attached just under the surface of the skin and
provides a continuous supply of insulin to the body.
Dan says: “I’ve been using the insulin pump for over three
months, and it’s changed both my personal and my professional life
dramatically. I feel full of energy and I know that when I’m
out and about on patrol, my body chemistry is under control.
I don’t even notice the pump – it’s like it’s not there.”
In April 2009, the National Police Diabetic Association produced
a report endorsing the use of insulin pumps by officers on
frontline duties. The report concluded: “Once the pump is
sited under all clothing, it is very well protected and poses no
further threat of injury to the officer than that from a mobile
phone or pager worn on a belt or in a uniform pocket.”
Chief Inspector Joe Wrigley, who also has diabetes, adds:
"I am thrilled that Dan is finding the switch to the pump such an
improvement and as I am due for my annual review shortly I shall be
discussing its merits with my own medical advisers.
"I am really keen that advances in treatment for diabetes are tried
out in the workplace and credit goes to members of the National
Police Diabetic Association who regularly 'trial' such equipment
for the benefit of their colleagues who suffer from both Type One
and Type Two diabetes. Equally I am grateful to Dan for sharing
this with others so that they can see that diabetes is no longer
the disability it once was but, if treated with respect, a very
controllable condition alongside which an active, challenging and
physically demanding job can be managed."
Dan concludes: “Using the pump has been really liberating, and
I’d wholeheartedly recommend it for any other officers with Type
One diabetes.”
Dan would like to thank the Diabetes Centre nurses at
BroomfieldHospital and Essex Police Occupational Health for their
ongoing support and help.