Calling for a Welsh Government Statement today on diet as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood referred to the encouraging diabetic diet trials that have been carried out in North Wales, which he said “merit attention from the Welsh Government”.
Last Friday, Mr Isherwood visited the diabetic dietician team at Wrexham Maelor Hospital to discuss the impressive results of their diet trials for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Speaking in today’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood referred to his visit and emphasized the point made by the team “that diet is the cornerstone of treatment for diabetes.”
He said: “Following the encouraging results from two diabetic diet trials conducted by diabetic dietician Claire Chaudhry at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, last Friday I had the pleasure of visiting the hospital to meet the Dietetic Service Lead for Diabetes in Betsi Cadwaladr, together with the Head of Dietetics East and the Assistant Director for Therapies in the East. They made the point to me that diet is the cornerstone of treatment for diabetes.
“With 30,000 to 40,000 people in North Wales alone with diabetes 2, this is costing 10 per cent of the NHS budget, much of it due to complications, but the pilot work has seen patients coming off insulin, losing weight, and increasing patient understanding of their own physiotype and changing lifestyles.
“They emphasise this is ‘invest to save’: blood pressure tablet use dropping, people coming off £3,000 sleep apnea machines, amputations reducing, beneficial impacts for sight loss, kidney dialysis, stroke, and much else besides. They've taken the lead on this in Wales. GP referrals are up accordingly, but they don't currently have the capacity to meet that demand. As an ‘invest to save’, I think it's a wonderful initiative, which merits attention from the Welsh Government, alongside the Health Board which has led on this.”
Responding, the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans, said the North Wales initiative “sounds very interesting and certainly extremely encouraging” and that she would discuss it with the Minister for Health
She added: “I know it's the intention of the Health Minister to bring forward a statement on diabetes, again before the end of the summer term, so this is something that could be considered within that context”.
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