Clinic is doing wonders for patients with diabetic complications

l CAIRNS NORTH

| Isabella Guzman Gonzalez

CAIRNS’ High Risk Foot Clinic has become an essential service for people living with diabetes across the Far North with its amazing record of reducing foot amputations from diabetes complications to nearly 20 per cent in the past five years.

A common complication of diabetes, up to 34 per cent of people with diabetes are expected to develop a diabetesrelated ulcer in their life and left untreated about 50 per cent of these people will require an amputation.

The clinic at the Cairns Diabetes Centre, established in 1996, has become a crucial service for residents living with diabetes, focusing on prevention and early detection and treatment through a team of diabetes experts.

“It’s like a one-stop shop where you can see podiatrists, endocrinologists, dietitians, psychologists, social workers and have that holistic process for patients living with diabetes,” said Dr Luke Conway, endocrinologist and diabetes specialist at the diabetes centre.

“The goal of the clinic and these services across Queensland is to reduce amputations by addressing infections early and it can be life-changing for patients.”

Redlynch resident living with type 1 diabetes, Deborah Bennett, has been a patient at the clinic for 15 years and said that without the clinic she wouldn’t be walking today.

While working on Green Island as a teacher in 1998, she noticed an ulcer that didn’t heal, that led to a diagnosis of Charcot foot, a complication of diabetes that attacks the bones, joints and soft tissues in the feet.

“My GP didn’t understand nor do anything about an ulcer on my foot that wasn’t healing and I found that the best place to come was the diabetes centre,” Ms Bennett said.

“They put a plaster on me and took the weight off my heel so I could heal. I’ve had more complications in the past 10 years, so I come here every two weeks, they make sure the ulcer isn’t getting bigger and that the infection hasn’t reached the bone.

“If the clinic wasn’t here, by now I probably wouldn’t be walking, I could’ve ended up in a wheelchair or even lost my legs.”