NNUH marks Diabetes Week by raising awareness of the condition and how to fight it

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is marking this year’s Diabetes Week by raising awareness of the condition and how to prevent it.

The annual event is taking place from June 11th-17th. Over the lunchtime period during the weekdays the Diabetes team will be providing information and guidance on how you can assess your own risk of Type 2 diabetes.

There will be a stand within the hospital’s East Atrium which will be maned between 12 and 2pm Monday to Friday.

Consultants, Diabetes Specialist Nurses and Dietitians will be there to give advice on diet and lifestyle choices and how you can work out your risk of developing the disease.

Diabetes is a condition defined by a raised blood glucose level, due to lack of insulin produced by the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone in the blood that reduces the blood glucose, among its many actions, and the pancreas can either stop producing insulin completely or not produce quite enough to work, or when the body is resistant to the actions of insulin often due to obesity.

Diabetes is a common condition and affects about 4% of the population in Norfolk, where there are more than 42,000 people with known or as yet undiagnosed diabetes.

NNUH’s Diabetes Facilitator Manager for Central Norfolk, Maggie Heels, said: “The Diabetes Team wanted to focus on something a little different this year and therefore have chosen to provide the public with information on how people can assess their own risk of developing the disease and try to fight it by making changes now to their diet and lifestyle.

“The numbers of people being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes is growing every year and we need to help people to understand how they might be able to prevent themselves from getting this disease.

“This week will help to promote a healthy lifestyle for all and encourage small changes in what they eat and the activity levels they have.

“It is very timely as this year Central Norfolk is in the first wave in the country of providing NHS England’s National Diabetes Prevention Programme which complements the hugely successful Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Programme which was led by Professor Mike Sampson.”

NNUH has a dedicated centre – the Elsie Bertram Diabetes Centre – which was opened in 1989 with the aim of providing patients with a high standards of diabetes care to improve health and quality of life.

NNUH also provides regular clinics outside the main hospital site: in Cromer, Fakenham, Dereham and North Walsham and has a team of community specialist nurse facilitators to provide extra care closer to home.

The Elsie Bertram team also works very closely with GPs, practice nurses and dietitians throughout the county, and patients and carers can access more information, videos and podcasts about diabetes via https://new.nnuh.nhs.uk/departments/diabetes-and-endocrinology/diabetes/adult-diabetes-podcasts/