Pharmacists are being urged to put type 2 diabetes at "the heart of their service" as part of a £2 million national campaign by Diabetes UK targeting those most at risk of the disease.

The two-week campaign kicks off on September 23 and will encourage people to have their type 2 diabetes risk checked online or in a pharmacy.  Those with a high risk factor will be asked to visit their GP for a diabetes test.

The campaign, run jointly with Tesco National Charity Partnership, will cover street, radio, transport and digital advertising, and will highlight the effect that one person developing type 2 diabetes can have on their family, the charity said.

Diabetes UK campaign offers pharmacists a fantastic opportunity to engage with the community, according to RPS president Martin Astbury

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It gives pharmacists a "fantastic opportunity" to engage with the community, said Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) president Martin Astbury. "We'd like to see as many pharmacists as possible offering validated risk assessments and enabling people to access the help and support they need," he added. Jonathan Valabhji, national clinical director for obesity and diabetes for England, agreed that pharmacists were in an ideal position to talk to patients about the condition. "Whether it's getting them diagnosed sooner than they otherwise would be or providing advice on how to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, I'd encourage all those in primary and community care to support the campaign," he said.

Details of the campaign were announced as NHS figures revealed that the cost of diabetes treatment to the health service increased by 0.5 per cent between 2011-12 and 2012-13, reaching £764.1m.

This contrasted with a 3.9 per cent fall in overall NHS prescribing costs over the same period, according to data published by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) on Monday (August 13).

The number of items prescribed for diabetes rose by 5 per cent to 42.5m between 2011-12 and 2012-13, according to the figures.

The Diabetes UK risk score assessment is available at www.diabetes.org.uk/riskscore