A NEW diabetes centre to support people living with the condition in North Lancashire will open at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in April.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) approved an investment of £75,000 towards the project in November 2015.

It will include five consultation bays, an investigation room, and the David Walmsley Resource Room which will be used as a reception area and for meetings and training. Staff decided to name the room after consultant David Walmsley, one of the first diabetologists at UHMBT, who retired in 2016.

Nurse-led clinics will move over to the centre in April with consultant-led clinics following shortly after.

Sue Smith, Executive Chief Nurse, UHMBT, said: “Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high. Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90 per cent of all adults with diabetes have type 2. The team has worked very hard on this project and it is great to see the centre close to being open.”

The project itself was set up following a patient's story at a Board of Directors' meeting and implemented part of the Trust’s Listening into Action (LiA) initiative. It was launched in September 2014 to put the power back into the hands of trust staff who lead on the improvements that they think the trust should make for patients and staff.

The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Lancaster, Cllr Robert Redfern, backed the hub back in May and has raised more than £5,000 for Bay Hospitals Charity. The money will go towards the Diabetes Centre.

Bay Hospitals Charity is a registered charity that raises funds and supports UHMBT’s five hospital sites. Donations received go to providing those little extras that help make the hospital experience better or improve outcomes for patients. Money is used to fund additional medical equipment, medical research, and specialist training and service improvements.

Councillor Redfern who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1980 and has attended the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) diabetes clinic every three months since his diagnosis.

An official opening for the centre will be held in the next few months. Details will be released shortly.