There has been much said in recent weeks about threats to security, to threats from Corona virus but much less said about the very serious threat to health in the Solomon Islands from diabetes.
I believe much more needs to be done by way of community knowledge and advice because the plain fact is that diabetes cases at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) are known to increase every day.
The doctors at the NRH are commonly seeing people come to the hospital with heart problems, kidney problems, high blood pressure, obesity and infections all associated with NCD issues which could have been avoided if only guidelines on the need for daily exercise and proper diet had been given to the public by the MHMS over a long period – and importantly followed.
The NRH on top of having to contend with a current second wave of Covid-19 infections are seeing patients having to be admitted after suffering from a stroke or a heart attack.
Many other patients are admitted with leg infections which generally result in a leg amputation, and some say as many as six amputations every week.
It is clear that changes in lifestyles and unhealthy diets, containing too much fat and too much sugar, are continuing to add to the number of Solomon Islanders with diabetes, and putting a great and increasing strain on public health services, but especially on the NRH.
The government and the MHMS has done good work in the fight against Covid-19 but a greater threat to health is diabetes in terms of hospitalization, mortality, expenditure on treatment and medication long-term, on mobility and rehabilitation, and much more needs to be done by way of community guidance to reduce the diabetes risks, remembering that prevention is better than a cure.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
