Staff at Watford General Hospital celebrated the opening of a new diabetes centre last week, which was named after one of West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s longest serving and most renowned consultants.
Patients and colleagues, past and present, of Dr Michael Clements watched as the clinical expert opened the ‘Michael Clements Diabetes Centre’, which will act as an information and education hub for both diabetes-treating doctors and diabetic patients.
Those who attended were given the chance to explore the new facilities, before listening to speeches by consultant Dr Arla Ogilvie and Dr Clements himself.
He said: “We have been working towards this clinic for the past 24 years. It’s wonderful to think that we achieved this build within my working career and it was a particular honour to discover the clinic has been named after me – it was a complete surprise.”
“The aim of this diabetes centre is to become a beacon site for the management of diabetes locally and an important resource for the community.”
“It will provide increasing availability to structured education for patients with diabetes and members of staff and allow patients, particularly those with type 1 diabetes, more direct access to specialist teams.”
“The new centre will also provide enhanced training for the next generation of diabetes clinicians, which, in the light of the astonishing rise in the frequency of the condition, is vitally important.”
Dr Clements said that number of patients suffering from diabetes has risen sharply in recent years, with figures showing that 17 per cent of in-patients at Watford General Hospital have either diabetes mellitus at any one time.
He revealed that incidence of type 1 diabetes among young kids is increasing, with children under the age of five being diagnosed with the life-long condition.
“As we don’t know what essentially causes type 1 diabetes, we’re hoping this facility will help educate not just the next generation of diabetes clinicians, but also patients as well,” he added.

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