Diabetes
Diabetic clinics operate in the surgery 2-3 times a week. The appointments are face to face reviews by one of the Practice Nurses. Prior to the appointment you will need to have bloods taken, blood pressure, height and weight and provide a urine sample. You will receive an invite to book in with the Healthcare assistant.
You may receive a Text invite if we hold an up to date mobile number on our records. This will allow you to self book an appointment at the clinic at a time which suits you. Please ensure we have an up to date mobile number on your record.
If you are unable to attend the Surgery for your review, please advise a member of staff when you ring, a telephone consultation can be arranged as required.
If the Nurse has asked you to attend more regularly for review of your diabetic bloods, a telephone consultation can be arranged to follow up on these results.
Appointments usually occur 3-12 monthly depending on how stable your condition is.
There are mainly 2 different types on diabetes- Type 1 and Type 2. We are discovering more and more subtypes all of the time in between these two. All people with type 1 require insulin but not everybody with type 2 does.
Those with Type 1 Diabetes will be managed in the hospital by specialist nurses and consultants who will review all aspects of their care and medication.
Those with Type 2 are usually managed by their Practice Nurse in the surgery unless they begin to need insulin in which case their care will be passed over to the hospital.
If you are diagnosed with either Type 2 Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes as well as nurse education in the surgery you will be given the opportunity to attend a more formal education programme. It is beneficial to get some more in depth knowledge about the condition and also an opportunity to meet other people with it.
Follow this link for more information: https://www.desmond.nhs.uk/
A healthy balanced diet is key to managing diabetes.
Sugar comes from not only obvious places like sweets, biscuits, buns and drinks but also for carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. They should only make up 1/4 to 1/3 of your daily food intake. They should be kept wholemeal where possible
If your struggling for inspiration below is an example of a typical good healthy meal plan and below is a food diary you can fill out and give to your nurse if you would like. Both are available to download as a PDF