Health professionals made a public pledge on 16 February to show their commitment to improving the lives of people with diabetes across Southport, Formby and south Sefton. 

NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG made the pledge, put forward by charity Diabetes UK, to achieve better health outcomes for people living with diabetes in the area.

The pledge outlines a commitment to increase the number of people with diabetes maintaining healthy blood glucose levels, which is key to managing diabetes and avoiding complications, and to reduce the number of people suffering devastating diabetes-related amputations, which can often be prevented if foot problems are discovered and treated early.

Dr Nigel Taylor, clinical Lead for diabetes at NHS South Sefton CCG, said: “We are aware that diabetes is a major health problem and the amount of people being diagnosed is on the up. Diabetes UK has predicted that in 2025 there will be five million people with diabetes in the UK alone. Most of these cases will be Type 2 diabetes because of our ageing population and rapidly rising numbers of overweight and obese people.

“There are around 7,800 adults with diabetes in south Sefton and for the past 10 years we have run a community-based diabetes service for patients to receive care closer to home.”

Dr Douglas Callow, clinical lead for diabetes at NHS Southport and Formby CCG, added: “We have several services in place already such as 'Diabetes and You' a successful education programme for people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in Sefton. We recognise that this is vital to improve outcomes and minimise the burden of diabetes in terms of morbidity and additional costs.”

Natalie Smale, Diabetes UK influencing manager for the North West, said: “Earlier this month, Diabetes UK released figures that show that there are now over four million people living with diabetes in the UK. In south Sefton the number of people diagnosed has risen by 4.7 per cent over the past three years making it more important than ever to ensure that people living with diabetes receive good quality care and education so they can manage their condition and potentially avoid complications such as heart disease and amputation.”

“Beyond the human suffering, diabetes accounts for 10 per cent of the entire NHS budget, and the NHS spends £8 billion on treating devastating, but often preventable, diabetes-related complications. With 14,411 people diagnosed with diabetes across south Sefton, Southport and Formby, we welcome this commitment to improving outcomes for people with living with the condition in these areas as this will help to ensure they live long and healthy lives.”

For more information about diabetes healthcare checks visit the Diabetes UK website