Diabetes prevention a focus of new NHS

The prime minister Gordon Brown has pledged that a ‘new’ NHS is in the pipeline, with a more preventative and personal focus. Diabetes, one of the fastest growing and most expensive diseases in the UK, should be a key focus in the shake up.
The Prime Minister, speaking on GMTV, reportedly commented: “What I want to have is a 21st century, modern health service that people think is rightly personal to your needs, not some service provided by someone else but you can organise it around your needs. So, if you want a check-up, if you want screening, if you want a preventative vaccine, if you want advice on health and fitness…the health service is there for you, and it is a preventative health service so it is preventing illness as well as dealing with illness.”
The speech was Brown’s first major public offering on healthcare since he became Prime Minister. He pledged that a new NHS will be able to spot signs of stroke, kidney disease and diabetes early on.
Brown reportedly continued: “A more personal and preventative service will be one that intervenes earlier, with more information and control put more quickly into the hands of patient and clinician. Over time everyone in Britain will have access to the right preventative health check-up. There will soon be check-ups on offer to monitor for heart disease, strokes, diabetes and kidney disease – conditions which affect the lives of 6.2 million people, cause 200,000 deaths each year and account for a fifth of all hospital admissions.”