Posts Tagged ‘awareness week’

Published on Apr 20, 2018

Scarborough and Ryedale residents are being encouraged to eat healthy foods and be more active to reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes, with a major programme of work to support people with diabetes now under way.

It is thought nearly 12,000 residents in Scarborough and Ryedale are currently at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to other serious conditions including stroke, heart disease, limb amputation, blindness and early death.

Treatment of diabetes costs the NHS more than £8 billion every year – that’s 10 per cent of the entire budget – and one in six patients in hospital has diabetes.

Around nine in 10 people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes which is closely linked to obesity and yet is largely preventable by eating healthily, being more active and losing weight.

GPs and other healthcare professionals in Scarborough and Ryedale are using Diabetes Prevention Week (16-22 April) to encourage residents to improve their future health.

NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Clinical Lead for Diabetes, Dr Chris Ives, said: “Since 1996 the number of people with diabetes in the UK has more than doubled from 1.4 million to 3.3 million and it is estimated that 5 million people are now at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

“It’s a ticking timebomb for the NHS, yet Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable through lifestyle choices.”

Meanwhile, a programme of work to provide extra support to patients with diabetes is now and up and running.

NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG in partnership with Vale of York CCG collaborated with York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to secure around £430,000 through NHS England’s Diabetes Transformation Fund.

One element of the programme is to review specific cohorts of patients with diabetes and offer targeted support to those people who have higher than recommended HbA1c levels, blood pressure and/or cholesterol that could lead to additional complications.

The additional support may also include a specialist GP review, psychology and social worker intervention, as well as medicines management help.

You can check to see if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes at www.diabetes.org.uk/risk