Diabetes

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"To achieve the best possible diabetes care, healthcare professionals and you need to work together as equal members of your diabetes care team. It is essential that you understand your diabetes as well as possible so that you are an effective member of the team" - Diabetes UK.  We would also suggest you read the new NICE guidance (May 2009) if you have Type 2 diabetes

Please take your tablets

We are very conscious that we ask our patients with diabetes to take lots of tablets every day.  There is no doubt however that thorough treatment of diabetes does avoid problems.  A study from Colorado published in September 2006 clearly demonstrated that non-adherence with medication was  associated with about 60% increase in risk of hospitalisation and 80% increase in mortality.

Annual review

If you have diabetes you need an annual review and immunisation against influenza and pneumococcus  . If your diabetes monitoring is done by the hospital the consultant's team will perform the annual review. The following relates to patients who have been discharged from hospital care and are being looked after by the Westbourne Medical Centre team.

You will need appointments with the following:

  1. Practice-technician for blood and urine testing. You must have a form for the blood tests (supplied at previous appointment or as part of an invitation letter from us). Please bring a sample of the first urine you pass that morning. It is important that you have nothing to eat or drink for 14 hours before the test ( eat normally if you are on insulin).
  2. An approved optometrist for a diabetes eye check. The eye screening programme is about to change  - see Dorset Diabetic Eye Screening. You will be invited to attend one of a small number of optometrists that have the special equipment necessary to photograph the retina. You can of course continue to see your usual optometrist for fitting of spectacles.
  3. Nurse  for your review . Please allow two weeks for blood tests and optometrist's report  to get back to the medical centre.  She will share the findings with you and suggest any alterations to your management. If there are problems she does not feel competent to address she will either discuss them with your doctor or ask you to make an appointment with your doctor.
Your doctor will review your computer record after your annual review and the performance of the practice team will be audited annually. If there are problems which cannot be addressed at practice level we will seek help from the hospital team.

 See annual review check list on Diabetes UK  website

More and more patients are developing diabetes

According to a BMA Board of Science report in 2004, the rates of diabetes will continue to rise dramatically with more than 200 million people globally affected by 2010 unless action is taken to improve diet and lifestyle. The report states that 8% of people in Europe and the U.S. already have diabetes and in Britain, diabetes affects around 1.3 million people, which consumes 10% of hospital resources. By 2010, the number of UK patients could be as high as three million. Obesity was highlighted as a key factor in the increased incidence of non-insulin dependent diabetes in children.

Links to Hospital diabetes centres

Other useful links

Page last updated May, 2009