Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths this week lent her support to a joint Diabetes UK and Rowlands Pharmacy campaign to raise awareness of Type 2 Diabetes.
The ‘know your risk’ campaign focuses on the lack of awareness of the condition, and the benefits of early detection – and continues to run until the end of September.
Lesley visited Rowlands Pharmacy, Rhosddu to take a ‘diabetes risk’ test, talk to staff about the campaign and receive an information pack. The pack, launched in conjunction with Diabetes UK and available from all Rowland pharmacies, contains advice on healthy eating, exercise, diabetes risk factors and information on how to learn your diabetes ‘risk score’. Information packs are also provided free to the public throughout this month as part of the campaign.
The test only takes five minutes and includes a blood pressure test and a few simple questions, however, it could be vital to assess your risk of diabetes.
Health Care Assistant Jackie was pleased to inform Lesley that she is not presently in a high risk category.
In the UK there are currently more than 2.6 million people registered with a GP as diabetic, and an estimated 50,000 people who have diabetes and don’t know it. Britain has the highest prevalence rate in Europe, with Wales the worst region, with a 4.9% rate of prevalence.
Wrexham fares badly even for Wales, with more adults treated for high blood pressure (22%) than in Wales as a whole (19%), and less adults making use of their local pharmacy.
The good news
The good news the campaign aims to highlight is that 80% of ‘at risk’ people could avoid the condition altogether if spotted early enough through simple lifestyle changes. Those with the condition could also benefit from early treatment, which can prevent serious complications.
Rowlands and Diabetes UK want to emphasise how pharmacies can provide information, give consultations, and help manage and prevent Type 2 Diabetes and other Long-Term Conditions. The campaign runs until the end of September, however blood pressure, BMI tests and free advice on diabetes and other conditions are available free to the public all year round.
Joanne Kember, pharmacist at the Rowlands on Rhosddu road commented:
“Pharmacies are ideally placed within communities to enable members of the public to see a healthcare professional. It is important people realise this resource is available for informal consultations and advice.
“The more people come to us, the more we can prevent and help manage long-term-conditions like Diabetes”
At the visit, Lesley also said:
“Many people don’t realise they are at risk – however a simple visit to your local pharmacy for a chat and a test could help prevent the development of diabetes -The test is simple and takes a few minutes”
“The levels of diabetes in Wrexham are reflective of those across Wales. Raising awareness and information levels is vital here– which is why I am supportive of this campaign”
