TURKISH residents in Edmonton suffering from diabetes have been encouraged to attend free sessions to help them manage their health.
Some diabetes suffers need to be treated with regular insulin injections for life
The classes will be run by healthcare professionals and are being offered to Turkish, Turkish Cypriot and Kurdish people because they considered to be at higher than normal risk of contracting diabetes.
The sessions will be run in English and Turkish and designed for those people with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the condition. People will be seen in groups and encouraged to talk about their experiences of diabetes.
Enfield councillor Christine Hamilton, whose cabinet responsibilities include public health, said: “When your first language is not English it is often difficult to discuss complex issues surrounding our health, there may also be cultural barriers.
“These special sessions, which are run for the Turkish and Somali community, will allow members of this community to discuss their health needs in a culturally appropriate setting. We are targeting communities that live in the Upper Edmonton area as this area has a particularly high incidence of diabetes.
“However, if these sessions are popular we will look to roll them out to other areas and communities”.
Organisers said people from Edmonton will be asked to participate in three two-hour sessions. The first covers an introduction to diabetes while the second offers tips on a diabetic person’s diet and lifestyle. The final session provides advice on how to live with the condition.
The sessions can be taken in the morning, afternoon or at weekends.
To find out more about the sessions please call the Enfield Diabetes Service on 020 8344 3184 or e-mail susan.lloyd@enfield.gov.uk . Non-English speakers can ask a friend or family member to refer them.
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What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. It is caused by the body’s inability to generation insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas.
When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy. But diabetes sufferers are unable break down glucose into energy. This is because there is either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or the insulin produced does not work properly.
Diabetes is one of the single largest drains on NHS resources, accounting to about 10 percent of its budget.
It affects approximately 2.9 million people in the UK. There are also thought to be around 850,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes in this country.
