The national type 2 diabetes prevention programme will reduce the workload of GPs in the long-term, according to Public Health England’s (PHE) Chief Executive.
PHE chief Duncan Selbie believes the programme is essential to ensure that the NHS is sustainable in the long ru, and that GPs would benefit from the reduced economic impact of diabetes.
Selbie added that the programme can save the NHS money – Diabetes UK reported earlier this year that diabetes could bankrupt the NHS – and refuted previous claims that the programme will not reduce rates of type 2 diabetes.
Selbie told Pulse: “We can save the NHS money, but more importantly we can save the NHS and general practice some workload by trying to avoid things in the first place.
“{The national diabetes prevention programme} could avoid almost a quarter of [pre-diabetic] people going on to develop type 2 diabetes.”
What is the national diabetes prevention programme?
The national type 2 diabetes prevention programme – a joint initiative with Public Health England and Diabetes UK – was launched earlier this year.
Several trials have taken place across England, which screen people with a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and provide free cooking and exercise classes to those with type 2.
According to Selbie, different approaches will be piloted by PHE and NHS England over the next 12 to 18 months to evaluate best how money can be saved by the NHS.
