Diabetes self-care

As this week is Diabetes Week it seems like an ideal opportunity to tell you about an exciting new app Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust is making available to people in Lincolnshire living with Type 2 Diabetes.

More than 50,000 people in Lincolnshire suffer from diabetes and although there are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes is often linked to being overweight.

To help people in Lincolnshire make healthy lifestyle choices, we are collaborating with the Leicester Diabetes Centre to bring the online version of their award winning self-management diabetes education programme, the MyDesmond app.

The MyDesmond, short for “My Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed”, app incorporates interactive learning, activity tracking, the ability to chat with other users and the app also provides a direct connection with experts from the Leicester Diabetes Centre. Also included are short videos, articles and interactive activities on diet and exercise the user can view at their leisure.

Evidence shows that people with Type 2 diabetes who take part in diabetes education see improvements in quality of life, reduced depression and reduced instances of hypoglycaemia, a very low level of blood glucose, leading to better behavioural outcomes, suggesting that those who attend understand more about their diagnosis and therefore do more to improve their health and wellbeing.

On a more personal note, this will be my final column for Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust for a few months. On 1 July, I am taking on the role of interim Chief Executive at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. In my absence I will be leaving the Trust in the capable hands of Maz Fosh and I look forward to reading her next column.