All Eyes on Diabetes at Royal Liverpool Hospital for World Diabetes Day
Embargoed 00:01 Monday 14th November / Ref: 051/2016
All ‘Eyes on Diabetes’ at Royal Liverpool Hospital for World Diabetes Day
On 14 November the diabetes service at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust will celebrate World Diabetes Day 2016.
As part of the day the Royal will celebrate patients who have successfully managed their diabetes and one of whom will be presented with the Robert Lawrence award, which recognises patients living with the condition for over 60 years.
Dr Robert Lawrence co-founded the Diabetic Association, now known as Diabetes UK, with H.G. Wells in 1934.
The annual awareness day highlights different aspects of the condition each year. The theme for this year’s campaign “Eyes on Diabetes” focuses on screening for Type 2 diabetes and treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications.
The teams at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital have extended this to also include advice on eye health and retinopathy screening for people already living with diabetes.
To mark the day an event is being held in the foyer of the Royal Liverpool Hospital from 10.00am - 4.00pm to give patients the opportunity to chat to diabetes specialists and to learn more about the condition.
Ophthalmologists and eye screeners from St Paul’s eye clinic will also demonstrate retinopathy (retinal) screening and how they assess people’s risk of avoidable sight loss.
Representatives from Diabetes UK, Action for Blind People and Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB) will also be on hand to answer any questions and to chat to patients.
A new patient health information resource will also be launched as part of the day which outlines the importance of regular eye checks for people living with diabetes. This has been developed in collaboration with Action for Blind People as part of the Eye Health Champions Project.
Julie Brake, diabetes specialist nurse at Royal Liverpool University Hospital said, “We are raising awareness of diabetes and want to provide as much support to people so they can understand the small changes they can make to prevent them being diagnosed in the future with the condition. We also want to make it clear to those with the condition that with the right care and treatment, anyone living with diabetes can and live life to the full.”
Taher Qassim, public health neighbourhood manager at Liverpool City Council added, “We are delighted to launch the new eye health information resource as part of World Diabetes Day. The tool highlights to the public the importance of looking after your sight and getting regular eye checks to prevent avoidable sight loss”
ENDS
For more information please contact Tor Shaw-Twigg on 0151 706 5584 or email .
Notes to editors
Almost 40,000 people in Liverpool may develop Type 2 diabetes by 2030 unless more support is provided to help people take better care of their health and wellbeing.
The diabetes team at the Royal Liverpool Hospital support approximately 8,000 diabetes patients, by providing specialist clinics including insulin pumps, diabetes antenatal care, diabetes kidney disease clinics, specialist foot clinics, specialist education and support for people with diabetes.
New figures released by Diabetes UK show that there are now 3.6 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, with 25,752 diagnosed with the condition in Liverpool alone. It is estimated that there are also a further 1 million people in the UK who have Type 2 diabetes but don’t know they have it.
Some of the more common symptoms of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can include:
· Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night
· Being really thirsty
· Feeling more tired than usual
· Losing weight without trying to
· Genital itching or thrush
· Cuts and wounds take longer to heal
· Blurred vision
If you have any of these symptoms and would like more information you can visit your GP or Practice Nurse for advice. They can also help you to reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes or access support to manage diabetes.
To find out more about World Diabetes Day you can visit www.diabetes.org.uk or www.JDRF.org.uk
For more information on diabetic eye screening you can visit http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes/Pages/diabetic-eye-screening.aspx