Borough High Street Sainsbury’s Local staff to promote diabetes awareness

The scheme encourages Sainsbury's employees to work with selected charities to put on fundraising events, take donations and attract new volunteers.

Sainsbury's and the Guy's and St Thomas' Charity have decided to work closely together to raise awareness of diabetes, a condition that affects 10,000 people in Southwark, including many who do not know that they have the disease.

The most common form of diabetes is type 2, which is often associated with being overweight and can lead to major problems with the kidneys, eyes and feet. However, with the right medication, treatment, information and advice, people with diabetes can manage their condition and get on with their lives.

Diabetes specialist nurse Liz Camfield and nurse consultant Anna Reid from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust's diabetes team were on hand to launch the first bucket collection day at the supermarket. They were also there to promote a free service offered by the hospitals and by Southwark Health & Social Care to people with type 2 diabetes who live in Southwark.

In May Sainsbury's invited nominations from shoppers and staff for a 'local charity of the year' for each store. Each branch drew up a shortlist from all nominations submitted and representatives from the shortlisted charities were asked to visit the store to talk about what they do and how the Sainsbury's team could support them.

The Co-Creating Health Self-Management Programme is open to anyone who has had type 2 diabetes for more than a year and lives in Southwark. The programme is designed to help people with diabetes develop more self-confidence to help self-manage their condition, to improve their quality of life and to share their experiences with others. It consists of a series of three-hour workshops once a week for seven weeks. Every person who joins has two trained facilitators: a specialist health professional and a person with diabetes who acts a lay tutor.

"The programme is a great opportunity for health professionals and local people with diabetes to share learning and improve health in the Southwark community," says Liz Camfield. "It's also a great way to make new friends and get support."

For information regarding venues, dates, time and to book a place on the programme, please call Freephone 0800 030 4225.

If you would like to volunteer to take donations at Sainsbury's Borough High Street on Wednesday 16 September or Saturday 17 October, please email [email protected]

• The M&S Simply Food store at Bankside Mix in Southwark Street has recently started supporting Bankside Open Spaces Trust.