Every Trust Should Have a MediCinema: Betty’s Story

Being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes can turn your world upside down. It’s incurable, and many people know little about it, leaving young people feeling overwhelmed and uncertain.

Diabetes is also invisible, so unless someone has a visible pump or device, you wouldn’t know they have it. The young people I work with can feel like they’re the only person in the world with their diagnosis. At school, they may hide their condition, afraid of being seen as ‘different’ or judged by their friends. They often feel restricted, as if having Diabetes limits their ability to do ‘normal’ things or achieve their goals in life. They lock their feelings away, trying to fit in.

But I’ve seen MediCinema change that.

Life-Changing Connections

For so many of my patients, stepping into the MediCinema can be the first time they start to feel like a person beyond their condition. To be surrounded by other young people with Diabetes – not on a hospital ward, but in a relaxed, social, non-medicalised environment – helps them realise they’re not alone. They see others managing their condition, living life, and having fun and suddenly, Diabetes feels less overwhelming.

Children who were hesitant about trying insulin pumps gain confidence after seeing others use them at MediCinema. Not because a clinician advised them to, but because they saw someone their age – watching a film, laughing with friends, enjoying something ‘normal’, out in the real world – managing their Diabetes. Seeing that makes it feel possible and less scary.

Families connect too.

I’ve seen parents who were once fearful or isolated build relationships with others facing the same challenges. Those moments of connection – sharing stories, exchanging tips, or simply laughing together – are incredibly powerful.

This kind of experience doesn’t just lift people’s spirits in the moment – it has a lasting impact. One screening, one conversation, can change the trajectory of a patient’s life.

Transforming the Patient Experience

But what’s really powerful is what this experience can come to represent. When a patient knows they’re not just being given medication or advice, but that someone has gone out of their way to help them enjoy something – to leave the ward, to laugh, to forget about their condition for awhile – that feeling is lasting. It tells them they are more than just a diagnosis, that they can feel joy and live a wonderful life.

And when people feel cared for as a whole person – not just a medical condition to be treated – they’re more likely to engage with us and their care. They trust us more and they listen more closely. We’re no longer just the people who give injections or tick boxes on forms.

I believe every Trust should have a MediCinema. It’s not just a place to watch films – it’s a space where young people regain confidence, families find support, and whole lives can be changed.