Free foot screenings for diabetes will be provided by NUI Galway to mark World Diabetes Day on Friday week (November 14 ).
The free screening will be held between 1pm and 4pm in the NUI Galway podiatry skills laboratory on the third floor of Áras Moyola on campus.
The World Diabetes Day campaign, first created in 1991, is led by the International Diabetes Federation and its member associations in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat diabetes now poses.
Although it is unknown how many people are currently living with the condition in Ireland, the Institute of Public Health estimates some 143,000 people currently have diabetes. In the institute’s Making Diabetes Count report, it also estimates this number will increase by 37 per cent by 2015.
NUI Galway boasts the only school of podiatry in the country, and lecturer, Dr Claire MacGilchrist, says diabetes has emerged as a “modern day epidemic”.
“The literature has identified that for every individual diagnosed with diabetes there remains another individual living with the condition remaining undiagnosed,” she says.
“ Early identification is essential and annual foot screening for individuals who have diabetes is crucial to identify diabetes related changes and implement effective management strategies to prevent ulcerations and amputations.”
People living with diabetes may suffer a number of diabetes related changes in the lower-limbs which ultimately can affect the blood supply and the nerve supply to the feet.
The World Health Organisation recently reported that every 20 seconds, somewhere in the world, a limb is lost as a consequence of diabetes, yet with effective screening programmes and early intervention strategies, ulceration and amputations are in many cases preventable.
The screening is strictly by appointment. To schedule a 20 minute foot screening appointment email Dr Claire MacGilchrist at [email protected] or telephone 091-494265 before Tuesday November 11.
