New campaign to identify cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes

A new multi-million pound diabetes awareness campaign will launch next month in a bid to encourage people to get checked for their risk of type 2 diabetes.
The two-week drive by Diabetes UK will be rolled out in September in over 5,000 pharmacies in areas of the UK known to have high-risk populations of type 2 diabetes, such as those with large black and ethnic minority populations and high levels of deprivation.
The aim of the campaign, which will be backed by retail giant Tesco, is to urge people in these areas to take an online type 2 diabetes risk assessment at their local pharmacy and to then visit their GP for a blood test if they are deemed to be at risk of the metabolic condition.
Dr Mo Rosha, a member of the council of healthcare professionals for Diabetes UK and a GP in Leicester, welcomed the campaign, saying it follows the principles of the recent NICE guidelines on diabetes prevention and complements the NHS Health Checks program.
He said: “The hardest with any screening campaign is making people aware and then getting them into their practice to have the tests done.”
According to Diabetes UK, an estimated 850,000 people have type 2 diabetes but are unaware of their condition (undiagnosed diabetes). Despite this, awareness of the disease remains very low amongst those most at risk.
The charity group’s £2 million campaign will get underway next month and will be advertised online, on the high street and in shopping centres, and via radio.