Speakers

Bernadette was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1996 and Diabetic Macular Oedema in 2011, She also has cataracts and glaucoma and was registered as severely sight impaired in 2024. After losing her job as a teacher in 2012, her faith led her into volunteering, sharing her experiences of living with both diabetes and sight loss. To date she has worked with ophthalmologists, optometrists, pharmaceutical companies, charities and medical students. Bernadette served on the recent NICE Diabetic Retinopathy Guideline committee (2022-2024) and multiple NICE HTA committees. She is the chair of the Lay Advisory Group for the Royal College of Ophthalmology and a member of the College of Optometry's lay group. She has participated in the 'The Eyes Have It' Parliamentary campaign and the  ‘Low Vision Service Quality framework’ (2024) and was involved in the Patient facing  ‘Eye Care Support Pathway’ (2024). Bernadette is a Diabetes UK Lived Experience Advisor and leads the Macular Society's Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular Oedema Support Group as well as a T1D support group for those that also attend her hospital for diabetes care in Surrey.