Collaborating for Better Diabetes Outcomes in Western NSW
More than 100 health professionals gathered in Dubbo last Saturday for the 2025 Type 2 Diabetes Masterclass – a full-day, multidisciplinary learning event that brought together clinicians, educators, and lived experience to strengthen diabetes care across Western NSW.
The event kicked off with a warm Welcome to Country from Aunty Margaret Walker, followed by opening remarks from WNSW PHN CEO Brad Porter and MC Dr Alex Hoyle. The program was designed to support a broad range of health professionals involved in diabetes care, including GPs, practice nurses, Aboriginal Health Practitioners, diabetes educators, and allied health professionals.
Throughout the day, attendees heard from expert presenters, including keynote speaker Prof Ted Wu, who shared the latest clinical updates on diabetes management. A powerful lived experience presentation from Aunty Marg brought the voice of community into the room and was a heartfelt reminder of the real-life challenges faced by people living with Type 2 Diabetes.
The program featured several interactive panel discussions, including:
- A live case conference on managing complex diabetes presentations, led by Prof Glen Maberly and the Western Sydney Diabetes team.
- A live ECHO session focusing on diabetes care and access for Aboriginal patients.
- A session on early diagnosis and opportunities for remission, encouraging clinicians to identify risk and intervene early.
Afternoon breakout sessions explored digital tools, dietary interventions, patient communication strategies, and a multidisciplinary lens on diabetic eye disease, offering participants practical strategies to apply in their own practice.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive:
- “Such a great educational day in person – very, very informative and helpful.”
- “Fabulous day, amazing presentations.”
- “The whole day was excellent.”
- “Thanks so much to the producers of a wonderful, informative day on diabetes care. I appreciated time to network with other health professionals in the breaks too.”
WNSW PHN would like to sincerely thank all presenters and panellists for sharing their time and expertise, including Prof Ted Wu; Prof Glen Maberly and the Western Sydney Diabetes team, Dr Manik Mayadunne and the WNSW T2D ECHO panel, Dr Wilson Pujawiyatna, Dr Madhuri Velegala, the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership, and presenters from the Marathon Health and the Care Partnership – Diabetes hub.
A special thank you also goes to Aunty Marg for generously sharing her lived experience – a meaningful contribution that grounded the clinical learning in community reality.
This event was made possible by the Care Partnership – Diabetes program (a collaboration between the Western NSW Local Health District, the Far West Local Health District, the Western NSW Primary Health Network, and Rural Doctors Network) in partnership with Western Sydney Diabetes and MetaDiab, and supported by industry sponsorship from Abbott, Eli Lilly Australia & New Zealand and Novo Nordisk.