Dr Neil Black receives an ‘Unsung Hero’ award

Dr Neil Black, a consultant at Western Health and Social Care Trust, has won a Diabetes UK NI Inspire gong for going ‘above and beyond’ for his patients living with diabetes.

His nominee, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago, praised the dedicated consultant for his person centred approach that helped her through a relapse in her eating disorder and the grief of losing a loved one, as well as helping her cope with managing her condition.

She said; “Dr Black has never judged me. I was in recovery from bulimia for ten years before I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Then the eating disorder came back and I talked to him about it.

“There was no ‘tut, tut’ or judgement, instead he went away and read a book about it to understand what I was going through. He then passed on the book to me, which was very kind.”

The nominee added that Dr Black “is very emphatic and goes above and beyond, I’d imagine not just for me, but for all of his patients, no matter how busy he is.”

Despite currently working around-the-clock at a dedicated COVID-19 ward, Dr Black is still managing to make time for his patients living with diabetes.

Accepting his award, Dr Black said; “I have always felt there was something wrong with how we as clinicians relate to people who live with diabetes and ‘deliver’ care. We as clinicians don’t deliver care, the person living with the diabetes does.

“It was gradually over years that I started to get some answers but they only came when I started to actually listen to people living with diabetes, how they described themselves and their experiences and what they valued. That is why it means so much to me that this award is the result of a nomination from a person living with diabetes.”

Tina McCrossan, National Director at Diabetes UK NI said that Dr Black has made a huge difference to the lives of his patients by recognising the person rather than the condition.

“His empathy for his patients goes well beyond his professional duty. It is his personal dedication to his patients, that has never wavered despite the demands of the ongoing pandemic, that makes him such a worthy winner of this award.”