The All Wales Diabetes Prevention Programme (AWDPP), led by Public Health Wales, offers targeted support to people who are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, with the aim of preventing them from developing this condition.
More than 200,000 people in Wales are living with diabetes, and nine in 10 of them have type 2 diabetes. This is a serious, sometimes lifelong condition. It is a leading cause of sight loss and a major contributor to kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. Type 2 diabetes has a severe impact on individuals and their families. There is also a financial cost: the treatment of type 2 diabetes accounts for around 10% of the annual NHS budget.
Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes can be prevented. Evidence suggests that, by supporting people to make lifestyle changes, over half of type 2 diabetes cases could be prevented. Developed nationally by Public Health Wales and delivered locally by dedicated healthcare support workers and dietetic leads working in primary care, the AWDPP supports people who are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes to make changes to their diet and to be more physically active.
In the first phase of its delivery, the AWDPP will be rolled out in at least two primary care clusters in each of Wales’ seven health board areas. The programme will be subject to an ongoing evaluation, and learning from this first phase of the rollout will be used to inform its design and delivery going forwards.