As I reflect on my nine years as CEO of Diabetes Victoria, our experience during the past two years comes first to mind.  How we operate; how we engage with our members, supporters and stakeholders; and support NDSS registrants in Victoria have all been challenged and… fundamentally changed.  We’ve learned how to better use technology to our advantage and have become far more attuned to the emotional wellbeing of not only our staff, but all with whom we engage.  There are many lessons for all of us to learn from this experience, so I was interested to read a recent article on what facilitated health service innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I hope all organisations, including Diabetes Victoria, will reflect on what they did well during the pandemic; what lessons they learned; and, more importantly, what things they need to improve. I suspect that this will be a rich area of research over the next few years…
 
At Diabetes Victoria, I’m particularly proud of the inclusive culture that we’ve developed and strengthened over the past nine years – underpinned by well-articulated strategic priorities, strong values, regular and timely communication, transparency and accountability.  We’ve given priority to funding research; developing win-win partnerships; and constantly focusing on our financial sustainability.  Three building blocks have been key.  First, we’ve put the lived experience of Victorians affected by diabetes at the core of everything we do.  We have a vibrant and very engaged Consumer Advisory Committee (as a formal sub-committee of the Board) and a sophisticated framework of consumer and community engagement.  Second, we’ve devoted resources to evaluation to make sure that everything we do is as targeted and effective as possible and… based on evidence.  Third, we’ve embraced an ethos of continuous improvement as part of our ISO Quality 9001:2015 certification, so that everyone who deals with us knows that we’re committed to providing services of the highest possible quality. 
 
As always, there are a number of challenges ahead.  These include coming to grips with what a post-COVID office looks like; our adjustment to the changes to the NDSS consistent with the 2021-2024 NDSS Agreement; what a sustainable membership model involves; and what role do we want within the diabetes federation.  All these issues have been openly and constructively discussed by both the Board and senior managers of late and will remain front of mind for some time yet.
 
Reflecting more broadly on the diabetes cause in Australia, the significantly higher prevalence of diabetes in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities remains a huge challenge, which I suspect has not been helped by the pandemic.  There is so much more that needs to be done, because the impacts are felt across the generations.  To some extent, the same challenges exist with our CaLD communities.  I hope we’ve learned some valuable lessons from the (initially) poor communication with these communities during the early phases of the pandemic.  This was particularly evident during the sudden lockdowns of nine residential towers in Flemington and North Melbourne in mid-2020.  While I’m particularly proud of the Life! program delivered by Diabetes Victoria on behalf of the Victorian government, there is still no national type 2 diabetes prevention program, unlike that delivered by the NHS – a model that I hope will be adopted here before too long.  It’s also a concern that there is not widespread community awareness about the seriousness and complexity of diabetes, which now accounts for a significant burden of disease in Australia.  I believe that diabetes does not attract either the research funding or philanthropic support that it warrants… and I very much hope that this situation will improve.
 
Finally, it’s been an honour and a privilege to have worked closely with so many talented people dedicated to supporting those Victorians affected by, or at risk of, diabetes.  As I now retire from full-time work, many thanks for all your support and interest in our activities. I wish you all the best in the future…
 
With kind regards
 
 
Craig Bennett
Chief Executive Officer
 
We support, empower and campaign for all Victorians affected by, or at risk of, diabetes.