Port Shepstone Hospital highlights diabetes
Staff held a successful awareness day.
WITH World Diabetes Day celebrated recently and a high prevalence of diabetics in this area, Port Shepstone Regional Hospital decided to turn the spotlight on this disorder.
Staff members held a diabetes awareness day last week to educate people about the importance of regular screening to ensure early diagnosis and treatment, which would reduce the risk of serious complications. Free tests and information about diabetes and other chronic diseases were on offer. As well as free diabetes screening, the hospital staff offered free hypertension, obesity and eye tests, family planning advice and HIV, tuberculosis, anaemia and mental health screening.
According to hospital spokesman, Phumza Morai, diabetes was a medical condition resulting from the inability of the human body to utilise properly the carbohydrates we consumed in our diet. These included bread, rice, potato, all breakfast cereals, pasta, mealie meal, samp and putu.
“It is high time people take the warning seriously because untreated or poorly controlled diabetes affects every organ in the body and can result in blindness (diabetic retinopathy), heart disease, kidney failure (diabetic nephropathy), poor wound healing, gangrene of the legs due to poor blood supply and loss of sensation in the lower legs,” she said.
The diabetes day team comprised nurses and lay counsellors from the outpatients and internal medicine departments. They saw 133 patients. Five were referred to Port Shepstone Regional Hospital with extremely high blood sugar and blood pressure.
Hospital management thanks Bargain Wholesalers for allowing the team to stage the clinic in the Arcade building hall. The team received many requests to hold more clinics.
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