The federal government yesterday announced an Australia-wide strategy to tackle the growing number cases of diabetes, which coincides with World Diabetes Day today.

Tamworth diabetes educator Kate Ryan said it was a “great initiative” and hoped it would highlight the impact that diabetes hasd on a person’s health.

“New England is a hotspot for type 2 diabetes and we see a lot of at-risk groups in Tamworth,” Ms Ryan said.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said the Australian National Diabetes Strategy was a blueprint for improving the prevention, care and management of diabetes to the end of the decade. It also aims to better target health resources to where they are needed most.

Diabetes Australia yesterday said that 280 Australians developed diabetes every day, there were 1.2 million Australians already diagnosed with the disease and the yearly cost to the nation was $15 billion. 

“Diabetes-related complications including heart attack, stroke, amputation, blindness, kidney failure, depression and nerve disease, but in many cases the disease is preventable,” Ms Ley said.

“For this reason the emphasis of the strategy is on prevention, early diagnosis,  intervention, management and treatment, centred on the role of primary care.”

Ms Ryan said a number of the goals in the strategy were relevant to New England, with promoting awareness and earlier detection of diabetes “a big one”.

“It’s important to make people more aware of what the signs and symptoms are, and that people who are at risk – those with a family history of diabetes, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, people who are overweight or smoke – should all be getting tested at least once every 12 months,” she said.

The test for diabetes is free, simple and non-invasive, and can be done at your local GP.

“If nothing else, I hope this strategy promotes more awareness about the severity of diabetes – the complications people can have are terrible,” Ms Ryan said.

Ms Ley said a growing number of people with diabetes also had other chronic diseases – known as co-morbidities – and therefore a key theme of the strategy was to provide a seamless partnership between people with diabetes and their health and community care providers. 

“Under this strategy people will be better informed about diabetes so they can make better decisions,” Ms Ley said. 

“In addition, research and evidence will strengthen prevention and care and, hopefully, move us that much closer to a cure for diabetes.”

This year’s World Diabetes Day is focused on healthy eating as a key factor in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes and an important part of the effective management of all types of diabetes to avoid complications.

“This is an area that we have been concentrating on for the past two years, with our Health Star Rating system on processed foods now well accepted by the food industry and consumers,” Ms Ley said.