Mary Kelly Foy, MP for the UK City of Durham, has thrown her support behind a new campaign by local primary care doctors, Dr Paul Baker and Dr Amanda Porch, to cut the cost of diabetes care for the National Health Service (NHS).
The MP whose seat is in the North-East of England, has a longstanding interest in public health as a former Cabinet Member of Health and Wellbeing at Gateshead Council and she intends to raise the issue in Parliament.
CAPTION: UK MP Mary Kelly Foy, advocating prevention through life-style change
Type 2 diabetes is a major health crisis affecting 3.9 million people in the UK and will rise to 5.5 million by 2030. It also places a huge financial strain on the health service; the NHS spends at least £10 billion a year on diabetes care. Almost 80% of the NHS’ money spent on Diabetes goes on treating complications after the damage is already done.
They are advocating for more intensive lifestyle intervention, particularly earlier on, around the time of diagnosis, as a powerful tool for reversing the root causes of type 2 diabetes. The doctors claim that if everyone diagnosed had easy access to a diabetes lifestyle programme, this could be a gamechanger for managing the condition and benefit our nation’s health.
Advocacy Action: Are there preventative initiatives you could support locally? Is there a plan with targets for prevention? Can you work with other elected representatives in your area to progress initiatives aimed at preventing Type 2 diabetes?