Dr Somen Banerjee, Interim Director of Public Health, to provide a verbal presentation for 10 – 15 minutes.

At the request of the Chair, Dr Somen Banerjee, Interim Director of Public Health, made a verbal presentation relating to the incidence of diabetes in the Borough population and how this might be addressed.  He gave details of the proposed Diabetes Summit that was being organised for 22 May 2013, as a Quickstart project of the Health and Wellbeing Board, with the aim of establishing a Diabetes Alliance across the Borough.  He made the point that diabetes treatment was not just a matter for the NHS but involved all partnerships in the Borough.

During the presentation, Dr Banerjee commented that:

·        Type 2 diabetes was preventable if a life-course approach were adopted.

·        Gestational (pre-birth) diabetes was prevalent in the Borough and resulted in increased health risks to mother and child.

·        The single biggest key risk factor in developing diabetes was obesity, of which there were high levels in the Borough from age five and through school age.

·        About 20,000 people in the Borough aged 25 – 40 years had a one in five chance of developing the condition in the next 10 years.  Individuals could address this through physical activity and care with diet.

·        Diabetes sufferers of 40+ years might yet need to be diagnosed.  It was felt that up to 3,000 – 4,000 such persons in the Borough could be undiagnosed.

·        A key measure in treatment was a patient focused care package.

·        He would seek to stress the wider approach that should be taken by all service providers, at the Diabetes Summit, when a wide range of services would be represented.

The Chair then invited questions from those present and Dr Banerjee responded that:

·        The ration of diagnosed to undiagnosed cases was better in Tower Hamlets than in neighbouring Boroughs.

·        Retinal screening coverage was lower in the Borough than the national average.

·        The rate of diabetes hospital admissions was falling in Tower Hamlets and this might be attributed to improvements in primary care outcomes.

·        South Asians had a higher susceptibility to diabetes in general and this applied globally.  This was further associated with socio-economic deprivation generally in the Bangladeshi community in the Borough.  There were further links to dietary and physical activity factors.  Self management programmes were being developed that were tailored specifically to the Bangladeshi community, taking account of cultural factors.

·        Preventative interventions such as the health trainers’ programme were targeted towards those in greatest need.  However, parts of the Borough also had high incidences of cardio-vascular problems and diabetes in the white population.

·        There was probably a tendency towards late diagnosis of diabetes but this was no worse in the Borough than elsewhere.  However, the rationale behind the Diabetes Summit was to raise awareness in the community as sometimes symptoms were difficult to assess.

·        Diabetes was a huge problem in the Borough and there was a great need to integrate health messages along the individual’s life course, linking in to cancer and cardio-vascular issues.

The Chair thanked Dr Banerjee for his presentation.