SPECIAL sessions are being staged to help people from the South Asian community who have type-two diabetes.

Airedale Hospital is offering courses aimed at giving patients a better understanding of the condition.

The two-hour-long courses are held at community venues including Roshni Ghar, the North Street Surgery and Sangat Centre, in Keighley.

Two language support workers – Yasmin Maskin and Shamim Akhtar – were recruited by the hospital’s diabetes team to help design and run the sessions.

Yasmin said: “These educational courses have been going really well and we have received positive feedback from patients.

“People have commented that they feel they’ve a better understanding of diabetes and the body, that the session is very informative and simple, and they enjoyed learning in a group environment and now felt more confident about managing their diabetes.”

Shamim told us: “Diabetes education is extremely important for anyone with the condition.

“Understanding diabetes is the key to managing it.”

There are separate courses for men and women, and language support is available in Urdu/Punjabi and Bangla.

All resources have been adapted for the South Asian community, with appropriate food models and concepts.

A short video outlining what the sessions involve can be seen on the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust YouTube channel, at youtube.com/watch?v=h2dydN2cBFA .

Jane Brophy, the hospital’s lead diabetes specialist dietitian for structured education, said: “Patients only need to come along to one session to gain a broad understanding of what diabetes is and the best ways to manage it.

“We will be signposting those who wish to know more to the full South Asian X-PERT course, which is four weeks long.”

Patients can obtain more details about the sessions and book a place by calling 01535 294290 or e-mailing diabetesED@anhst.nhs.uk. People can also be referred by GP surgeries.

For further information, visit the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust website at airedale-trust.nhs.uk/services/diabetic-medicine.

Type-two diabetes causes the level of sugar in the blood to become too high and can cause symptoms like excessive thirst and tiredness.