NHS scheme launched to support diabetes patients

According to NHS Somerset, more than 30,000 people in the region are living with diabetes

A campaign is being launched to raise awareness of type 2 diabetes and to help people access support via a free NHS programme.

Somerset is one of 21 areas in the country offering the NHS Type 2 Pathway to Remission Programme to overweight patients living with the condition.

A joint initiative between NHS England and Diabetes UK, it aims to help people lose weight and improve their health.

Marie Laing, from Frome in Somerset, who has lost more than three stone (19kg), said: "I'm so glad I did the programme."

Marie Laing said she felt healthier after completing the 12-month programme

Mrs Laing told BBC Radio Somerset: "The GP suggested I try this after I'd tried other things myself and hadn't succeeded, and I'm really grateful.

"This remission programme isn't a diet - it's a lifestyle change. Learning about your body, how food impacts you, why you crave food, how you should exercise... and it isn't stopping you having anything.

"It's improved my exercise and being able to be with my children and family, and being out and about and doing things that I love."

She added: "It's not easy, but it is well worth it to be able to have your life back."

The campaign is being launched as part of Diabetes Awareness Week, which takes place from 10-17 June.

NHS Somerset said more than 30,000 people in the region have diabetes, and 90% are type 2.

If people do not take action to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, it is estimated that 53,000 people in Somerset could be living with it by 2030.

Dr Henk Bruggers said the programme requires commitment

Patients who enrol on the 12-month programme are coached through three phases.

They are placed onto a 12-week diet consisting of low calorie soups and shakes, followed by a six-week reintroduction to “real foods” and ending with a seven to eight-month maintenance phase to sustain long-term diet and lifestyle changes.

“It’s definitely a very hopeful and prospective programme,” Dr Henk Bruggers, the county’s clinical lead on diabetes, said.

"You’re basically depleting yourself of quite a significant amount of energy, therefore burning a lot of your internal fat, and by doing so, losing weight and improving your glucose tolerance.

"It definitely requires a lot of commitment.

"If you are managing to lose weight - typically people lose about two stone - there’s a good chance you are not only improving your condition, but you may even get into remission," he added.