THE Lusignan Diabetic Clinic on the East Coast of Demerara is complete and has been fitted with equipment that will offer treatment and specialised services to persons living with diabetes.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, last Friday, said patients who wish to receive services from the clinic can register from this week.

“What we’ll be doing as of [this] week is to do like a soft opening of the facilities, where persons who want to be managed at that centre can come and get registered … we’ll start getting patients to come in [and] get registered and we’ll start offering treatment,” Dr Anthony disclosed.

The clinic would offer services including eye and cardiovascular screening, diabetic wound care, x-ray, as well as laboratory and rehabilitation services for persons who have suffered from peripheral neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy results from damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves) and often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in the hands and feet.

“All these services would be under one roof and next week we start a phased approach to getting patients in, getting them familiar with the services that we’re offering,” Dr Anthony highlighted.

The diabetic clinic is also staffed with specialists who have been trained to provide quality and comprehensive approaches to diabetic treatment.

Minister Anthony explained, “There will be a nutrition counsellor that will be assigned to the centre, for most diabetics, to screen them for complications of diabetes. We need to check peoples’ kidneys, we’ll need to check their eyes, we need to check their feet and these types of specialised services would also be available on the site.”

The new clinic is expected to be officially opened by the end of January or early February. Hundreds of residents on the east coast are expected to benefit from this new clinic. (DPI)