Conservative Friends of India recently partnered with Conservative Health and the Conservative Policy Forum to host a panel of experts in Manchester on the topic of Diabetes in the British South Asian community.
The South Asian community in Britain is up to 6 times more likely to contract diabetes than other people from the general population. The distinguished panel spoke of the need to properly appreciate the BMI results and discussed whether doctors should consider screening for diabetes in South Asians from the age of 25, due to their higher risk.
Many factors were highlighted, including the importance of a having a proper diet and ensuring that community engagement and education are given greater priority as we move forwards.
David Mowat MP, Minister for Community Health and Care was the key note speaker along with Graham Brady MP, chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee.
Other speakers included Dr Mahendra Patel, Board Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and CEO of the South Asian Health Foundation, Dr Winston Crasto, also from the Foundation and Dr Zubair Ahmad GP. The event was chaired by Dr Ben Spencer from Conservative Health.
All the Speaker's emphasised the importance of the subject and also engaged in a question and answer session with members from the audience.
Minister for Health David Mowat MP said: “I very much enjoyed the event, as well as the chance to listen to and contribute to the subject of diabetes in the South Asian community.”
Shailesh Vara MP, Co-Chairman of Conservative Friends of India, commented: “This is an extremely important topic for the South Asian community and I am pleased that members of the Government, medical experts and the public are coming together to learn, think and explore options about how we can best deal with this disease.”
