Effort underway to identify diabetes risk in Lisburn

From the beginning of December, 19 MediCare pharmacies, including in Lisburn, will be offering Diabetes UK Risk Assessments to customers. These will assess a person’s risk of getting Type 2 diabetes within ten years and categorise it from low (one in 20) to increased risk (one in 10), moderate risk (one in 7) and finally high risk (one in 3). The trained pharmacy staff will then give advice on what people can do to reduce their risk.

Iain Foster, Director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland, said: “Figures released in October indicated a 40% increase in diabetes since 2005 and we still have 10,000 people who have diabetes but don’t know it. We believe that working with MediCare will help us to reach out to the thousands of people who are at risk of Type 2 diabetes and to those who remain undiagnosed. It is extremely important that people are diagnosed early so they can get the treatment they need and avoid serious complications.

“By working together we can identify people who are at risk of Type 2 diabetes and encourage them to take action which will prevent them from being diagnosed with what is a serious and lifelong condition.”