Getting your licence, being legally able to drink alcohol, registering to vote, finishing secondary school, getting a job or going on to tertiary studies, are just some of the important changes that occur as you exit your teens and enter adulthood.

With diabetes, the other important change is the transfer of your diabetes care to the adult health care system.

The research tells us that being organised throughout this transition period has a very positive impact on your overall health as an adult living with diabetes.

As you move towards this transition, there are several things you can do to prepare for transition to adult care and make this change successful.

Some of these are:

Preparation -15 to 16 years of age:

• If you don’t already have a regular GP or medical practice it is important to find someone you are comfortable with and arrange to see them at least one per year. Most of the adult health care system revolves around your GP so they will be a key element in supporting your access to adult diabetes care.
• Start to see your consultant on your own for at least part of your clinic appointments. This is important in building confidence in speaking with the doctor about your diabetes care as the adult system will rely on you, not your parents/carers for information to support decisions about your healthcare.
• Start to develop an understanding of your medical history including your diabetes, ask questions of your parents/carers and healthcare staff. A good start can be learning the names of all your medications.
• If you don’t already have a My RCH portal account this is the time to set up access. Please note if your parents have already set up portal access, you will need to apply to have you own access to your portal account. From the age of 12-15 you can share access with your parents and from the age of 16 you can choose if you want to share portal access with your parents or can just have your own access. It is helpful to download the My RCH Portal app and turn your notifications on. 
• If you now have your own mobile number, consider having your contact details added to your EMR (The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) electronic medical record) so that you can be contacted directly when needed.
• If your parents/carers are currently receiving the Carer Allowance (child) through Centrelink for diabetes this will end when you turn 16 years of age. You will then be entitled to apply for your own healthcare card  
• Consider getting your own Medicare Card. You are eligible to apply for this from 14 years of age. 
• Get familiar with the additional driving requirements for diabetes 6-12 months before you apply for your learner’s permit. Also see RCH information on driving and diabetes.  
• Get to know the RCH Transition Support Service. Their role is to assist young people with chronic medical conditions, like diabetes and their parents/carers to transition and transfer to adult care. They do this in partnership with all of the RCH clinical teams and the adult health services. They also have lots of useful information on their website: 

Transition – 17 to 18 years:

• Request an appointment with the RCH Transition service. They can assist you with understanding how the adult health care systems works and help you to work through what you can do to prepare for your new diabetes service.  
• As an adult you will be responsible for keeping track of your scripts and medical appointments, amongst other things. It is a good idea to start now! Make sure you know the number to call to book or reschedule a clinic appointment and how to access scripts for your medications. If you struggle with doing this there are several apps on the market that can help you or you can use the My RCH portal app.
• If you have not done so already have your personal contact details added to your RCH medical record. This will allow us to contact you directly.
• Get familiar with all your diabetes supplies and how to obtain new supplies or follow up faults with your equipment. Ensure you have your own NDSS card which you can add to your phone.
• If you have not done so already, organise your own Medicare Card.
• If your parents/carers have Private Health insurance that includes you on the policy, it is important that you and your parents understand when and how to change the policy.
• Explore the options for Adult Care available to you. You may want to choose a service that is close to where you live or where you go to work/study. Some organisations have diabetes services that are specifically aimed at young adults.
  These are called Young Adult Diabetes Services (YADS).  
  Some YADS services in Melbourne are (also see below map): 

- Royal Melbourne Hospital Young Adults Diabetes Service –  18 to 24 years of age 

- Box Hill TODAY Clinic – Up to 28 years of age 

- Austin Health Young Adults Diabetes Service (YADS) - 16 - 25 years of age 

- Western Health Young Adults Diabetes Service YADS  – 16 to 25 years of age 

- Monash Health – 18 years and over 

- St Vincent's Health – 18 years and over 

Adult Care – 18 years plus

• At RCH we will usually arrange your transfer to adult care once you have completed your secondary schooling. Depending on your circumstances this may be before or after you turn 18.
• Your RCH diabetes doctor will discuss your transfer of care during your usual clinic appointment and will write a referral/transfer letter to your chosen Adult or Young Adult Diabetes Service. Your GP will also receive a copy of this letter. Once your new diabetes service receives the letter they will schedule your first clinic appointment. This process may take some time so we will book ongoing RCH clinic appointments until you have attended your first clinic appointment with your new service provider.
• It is important that you continue to attend a Diabetes Clinic appointment every 3-4 months so until you have attended your first adult/young adult clinic appointment please continue to attend the appointments at RCH.
• To ensure you have the best experience and reduce delays with your first adult/young adult clinic appointment, it is suggest you come prepared!
  This includes ensuring you have:

- A record of your blood glucose levels. This may be in the form of a book, report generated on an app, online software. Please contact your Diabetes Team to assist with linking up all your diabetes software accounts.

- Hypo food (fast and slow acting carbohydrate)  

- A family member or support person, if you wish 

If you have set up a My RCH portal account, note that this will remain active for 5 years after your departure from RCH, but only if you access the account at least once every 12 months. Maintaining access to the My RCH portal means that you will be able to access parts of your medical history including test results. This information is likely to be important for your new diabetes service. You can also give your new medical team access to your RCH electronic medical record for a period of 18 months after you leave RCH.

Staying on track with your Diabetes care is a key part of ensuring that you maintain your overall health and can continue to do all the things you love doing.

This includes keeping track of your:

- Medications and scripts

- Clinic appointments – you should attend clinic every 3-4 months.

- Diabetes supplies

The below map shows some YADS and adult  diabetes clinics in Victoria: 

Page updated May 2024