The overarching mission of Westbank Community Health and Care is to help people lead healthier and happier lives and to promote preventative healthcare wherever possible, so we’re absolutely delighted with the results of our pilot Diabetes Prevention Programme. After six years, the results are in - and they couldn’t be more encouraging!

Westbank’s Healthier Devon Diabetes Prevention Programme has been supporting adults aged 18-90 years to improve their overall health and fitness. Many are patients who were referred by a GP or clinician because they were at high risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes - a serious, debilitating and often lifelong condition. Around 90% of people diagnosed with Diabetes have Type 2 and many go on to develop complications which are a huge drain on the NHS, currently accounting for around 10% of the total healthcare budget!

Healthier Devon was designed to support participants across Devon in improving their daily behaviours and eating habits with the goal of lowering their risk of developing Diabetes and the health complications it can lead to. The programme was commissioned by Public Health at Devon County Council and partly funded by the Big Lottery Fund Commissioning Better Outcomes scheme with investment from the Bridges Social Impact Bond, which provides support to charities and social enterprises to deliver contracts that aim to produce positive outcomes.

Our 2-year healthy lifestyle intervention programme was offered to more than 2,000 participants across the county. After completing the programme, participants have reported feeling healthier, eating better, experiencing improved mood and feeling better informed about the lifestyle choices they make with measurable impacts, such as a reduction in their HbA1c (the measurement of blood glucose levels indicative of the risk of developing Diabetes). This means we have successfully reduced the number of people developing Type 2 Diabetes across Devon!

For individuals, the results have been life-changing: 74% of participants who engaged on the programme had a positive outcome.The average weight loss of participants after 2 years on the programme was 3.7kg and their average reduction in waist size was 4.8cm.

Here are some of the comments we have received from those who have successfully completed the programme. Valerie said, “I have recommended this course to all my friends; my son is a GP and said everyone should be informed of this course as it will save the NHS. It's been fantastic.” Pam told us, “I needed the education, push and support. It’s great to have someone looking out for you” and Christine added, “I am now always looking at food labels, making low or no sugar choices, which I wouldn’t have done before.”

We can’t think of a better way to end 2024 than with results and comments like these. If your New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight and improve your lifestyle habits to improve your health and fitness, we hope you’ll take encouragement from what has been achieved. Westbank offers lots of other activities and initiatives across the county, like our extensive programme of daytime Health Walks, to support you. We wish you a healthy and happy New Year!

This article was first published in The Moorlander