According to Diabetes UK, more than 4.9 million people in the UK have diabetes and three times that number are now at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. 850,000 people are currently living with type 2 diabetes but are yet to be diagnosed. Your family member, work colleague, friend or neighbour may be one of these unknown.
- Please ask someone to check their risk today – https://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk
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Further referrals to The Leeds Programme for Diabetes education or to other health professionals such as Podiatrists, Dietitians, Mental Health Professionals, Wellbeing Coordinators, Opticians, Diabetologists, etc may be done if required. A date for future review is agreed and the consultation is concluded.
People are different and no one size fits all. There are some patients who had a wake-up call on being diagnosed with Diabetes with very high HbA1c (blood glucose) test results. They transformed their lifestyles – diet, physical activity and achieved sustained weight loss along with compliance with medication. At subsequent reviews, their blood sugars had returned to normal and they went into remission, doing well, off medication!
There are patients with elevated blood glucose readings who time and again refuse to start medication and promise to use natural methods or lifestyle intervention only. There are few patients who only take their medication a few days before the next consultation and blame their rising blood glucose levels on the meal they ate before the blood sampling. Still, there are a handful of patients on maximum tolerated oral medication who have been informed that the cells in their pancreas which produce Insulin were no longer functioning and they needed to commence Insulin injections but simply refused, remaining resolute year after year despite our best efforts at persuasion.
People face real barriers and we have several challenges in primary care including organising the recall system and protecting appointments for pro-active work, especially with the unprecedented post-Covid demand for appointments and instant gratification. Patients differ by age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, employment, residential status and morbidity. Is our recall system flexible and does it work for all patients, for example those who are blind, deaf, have Learning Disability, Serious Mental Illness, Dementia or are non-English speakers?
In keeping with the theme of this year’s International Diabetes Day, access to comprehensive diabetes education in our city comes from The Leeds Programme:
The International Diabetes Federation has its own School of Diabetes for public education on Diabetes. There are other sources of information:
- Diabetes Charities
- Health Care Practitioners in primary and secondary care
- Community Pharmacists
- Online Search Engines
- Health Websites
- Social Media Channels (WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, etc.)
- Online influencers
- Family/ Friends/ Peers
- Support in the Community (e.g. self-help groups)
- Faith-based Organisations, etc.
Knowledge alone does not change behaviour. Our genes, access to healthcare, the quality of care we receive and the environment (determinant of one’s socio-economic status) all contribute towards equipping us with the skills and confidence to live healthy lifestyles and comply with our medicines if prescribed. Here the ‘logos’ of diabetes education is transformed to the ‘rhema’ of rewarding care. Are you living with Diabetes? Get all the family to know more!
Dr Abiye Hector-Goma is GP Principal at Allerton & Westfield Medical Centres in Leeds; Diabetic Lead for the Practice with a passion for “Expert patients”, lifestyle and behavioural interventions in Long Term Conditions management.
