Northwick Park Hospital 2021-10-03 Person 3 5 0

The dietician was articulate and clear. She came across as a nice person who seemed to want to help. We did have a nice conversation. She did not make any decisions about me or my care. Unfortunately the appointment itself was not that useful as it was too late after my first diagnosis and therefore I had already had to do my own research and try out different things. I didn't learn very much new from the appointment. It felt like the discussion led by the dietician was a tick box exercise, i.e. questions she had to answer and notes she had to make. The follow up notes to my GP also demonstrated this, noting that all the items listed were not actually fully discussed. I had gone to the appointment prepared, with a list of questions, which we did get through but for the majority I did not learn anything new. It was disappointing that when i asked questions specifically related to an Asian diet she was unable to answer, considering the large population of Asians at Northwick Park Hospital and the fact that people of Asian origin are at high risk of diabetes I would expect there to be some understanding of the demographic that is being treated. So overall though the conversation was pleasant, I did not gain much at all from it.

This first appointment with a dietician when someone is diagnosed with gestational diabetes needs to be much sooner. There is urgency in getting the right balance of diet and exercise and if this is not managed quickly decisions are made to start medication. This is as midwives are keen to react quickly especially as there are very few weeks between diagnosis and baby due date. So having this appointment 4 weeks after first diagnosis is too late.