Public Health Wales has launched two new national resource packs to support patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The ‘Living Well with Type 2 Diabetes’ resource is aimed at those diagnosed with the condition and seeks to provide “practical next steps, lifestyle advice, emotional wellbeing support and clear signposting to trusted services”.
Co-designed by healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, and over 80 individuals living with type 2 diabetes, the packs are “built around what people said they needed most, clear, practical guidance on food and lifestyle, better understanding of what care and checks to expect, and greater awareness of how managing their condition well can improve their future health.”
Read more: MP calls for diabetes awareness campaign through pharmacies
The second resource, the Point of Diagnosis Toolkit, is aimed at healthcare professionals, and offers “practical aid for clinicians giving or first disclosing a type 2 diabetes diagnosis”, including checklists, communication templates and guidance on the importance of using “compassionate” and “stigma-aware” language when diagnosing.
Public Health Wales told C+D that “community pharmacists in Wales were involved in the co-design and development of the type 2 diabetes support packs, helping to ensure the resources are practical, relevant and accessible for people living with the condition.”
All community pharmacies in Wales have been provided with a communications toolkit containing information about the packs, search terms and QR codes to help patients access them online, plus “digital screen assets, printable posters, social media content and SMS text message templates,” it added.
Stigma, shame and guilt
According to Public Health Wales, the country’s “diabetes crisis is growing faster than predicted”, with 230,371 living with diabetes today, up 7,685 on last year.
It estimates a further 328,000 people are living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, bringing the number of adults living with the condition in Wales to “around one in five”.
Previous research by the Tackling Diabetes Together Programme at Public Health Wales said 67% of those diagnosed with the condition felt shame and guilt. The packs are designed to support patients through “an emotionally significant conversation” which “requires high-quality, person-centred” resources.
The resources will help clinicians have diagnoses conversations “confidently and consistently,” said national dietetic clinical lead for diabetes and prevention Maria Cole. “Helping people access the information and support they need to feel better, stay healthier and reduce their risk of future complications.”
Seven to one
Meanwhile, on August 20 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that hundreds of thousands of individuals with type 2 diabetes “could swap daily insulin injections for a once-a-week jab”, cutting injections by 85% per person.
NICE cited clinical trial evidence which demonstrated that insulin efsitora alfa, made by Eli Lilly and branded as Onswik, is as effective as insulins used to treat type 2 diabetes daily.
It could be particularly beneficial to those “who rely on a carer, family member or healthcare professional to help them inject”, said director of medicines evaluation at NICE, Helen Knight. She said the recommendation followed “rigorous, evidence-based decision making, striking a balance between the benefits to patients and the best use of limited NHS funding.”
Read more: Gold: 95% rate Welsh common ailments service ‘excellent’
It comes after results from two international clinical trials found that a once-a-week oral tablet is effective in suppressing HIV.
Currently, patients with HIV must take daily pills or a number of injections throughout the year to manage the condition and prevent transmission.
