You are expecting a new service user who has Diabetes. Your manager has asked you to present a training session on diabetes to help other team members understand it and enable the best support for the new service user.

All About Unit 14: Diabetes Awareness

Unit 14: Diabetes Awareness is about understanding diabetes well enough that you can work safely with real people, not just repeat medical terms. The unit expects you to know what diabetes is, who is at risk, what the warning signs look like, and how everyday support in care settings makes a difference.

You don’t need to sound like a doctor. You do need to show that you can explain things in normal language and link that knowledge to what staff actually do during a shift.

What this unit wants you to understand

At the centre of Unit 14 is a simple idea: diabetes is a long-term condition where the body struggles to control blood sugar because insulin is not working properly.

You are usually expected to recognise the main types:

• Type 1 diabetes – the body makes little or no insulin; people usually need insulin injections or a pump from diagnosis.

• Type 2 diabetes – the body still makes some insulin, but it does not work properly or there isn’t enough; often linked with lifestyle and family history.

• Gestational diabetes – appears during pregnancy and normally goes away afterwards, but increases the risk of Type 2 later.

In your assignment, you can briefly describe each type and then explain how they affect everyday life, instead of leaving it as a dry definition.

Risk factors, who is more likely to develop Type 2?

Rather than just naming risk factors, the unit wants you to connect them to real situations. Typical risk factors you might mention are:

• Being overweight, especially around the stomach

• Not doing much physical activity

• Eating a lot of sugary or fatty food and not enough fibre

• Family history of diabetes

• Increasing age and some ethnic backgrounds

You can turn this into a short example for your work, for example a care worker who eats on the go, never exercises, and has a parent with Type 2 diabetes. That shows that you understand how lifestyle turns into risk, not just that you memorised a list.

Signs, symptoms and complications, what you’re expected to spot

Unit 14 is very interested in whether you can notice when something might be wrong with a service user.

Common symptoms you can write about include feeling very thirsty, passing urine more often (especially at night), unexplained weight loss, tiredness that doesn’t go away, blurred vision and cuts that are slow to heal. In your assignment, you can link these to a short scenario: for example, a resident who keeps asking for drinks, gets up to the toilet at night, and starts losing weight.

You’re also expected to know about:

• Short-term problems, like low blood sugar (hypo) and high blood sugar (hyper), with simple signs such as shaking, sweating and confusion (hypo) or extreme thirst and tiredness (hyper).

• Long-term complications, such as heart disease, kidney damage, eye problems, nerve damage and foot ulcers, especially if blood sugar is poorly controlled for years.

You don’t need to write a medical essay, but you should clearly explain that poor control of diabetes over time can damage different parts of the body and affect independence.

Everyday management – how people actually live with diabetes

The unit also looks at how diabetes is managed day to day. In simple terms, management usually involves:

• Checking blood sugar (finger-prick tests or sensors)

• Taking medication such as tablets or insulin

• Making changes to food choices and physical activity

For your assignment, it helps to show what this looks like in real life. For example, a person may need regular meals, snacks at certain times, support to choose suitable food from the menu, reminders to take medication, and help to keep appointments for eye or foot checks.

If the unit mentions “self-management”, this means the person is involved in their own care: understanding their condition, recognising warning signs, and making decisions about food, exercise and when to seek help.

Your role as a carer or support worker

A big part of Unit 14 is about what staff in care settings actually do. Even if you never inject insulin, you still have an important role. In your work, you can write about things like:

• Following the person’s care plan and not changing anything on your own

• Encouraging regular, balanced meals and being aware of when they usually eat

• Watching for changes in mood, behaviour or physical condition, such as shakiness, confusion or unusual tiredness

• Noticing any problems with their feet during personal care, like cuts, redness or swelling, and reporting them

• Respecting privacy and dignity when discussing their diabetes or helping with intimate care

Scenario questions often ask, “What would you do?” Focus on observe, report, support within your role – and mention who you would tell (senior, nurse, GP) rather than trying to act as the doctor yourself.

Hypos and hypers, how you might respond

Emergency situations are usually part of this unit. You are not expected to write advanced clinical instructions, but you do need to show calm, sensible steps.

For a hypo (low blood sugar), you can write that you would stay calm, reassure the person, follow the care plan (for example, offer fast-acting sugar if they are conscious and this is allowed in your role), then make sure it is reported and recorded. If they do not improve or lose consciousness, you would call emergency services immediately.

For a hyper (high blood sugar), you might explain that you would recognise thirst, frequent urination and tiredness, check their care plan, inform a nurse or senior, and seek urgent help if their condition worsens. The key in assignments is to show that you know the difference in signs and that you respond quickly, safely and within policy.