People with diabetes urged to lobby election candidates

People with diabetes are being urged to lobby local candidates in the General Election in a bid to put diabetes on the national agenda.

Diabetes UK has produced a ‘General Election Campaign Pack’, which includes tips on how to get the message across in the build up to Thursday, May 7, when the country goes to the polls.

It is part of the charity’s campaign to raise awareness of diabetes at Westminster and persuade Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) to commit to tackling the condition.

Jessica Kuehne, Diabetes UK Public Affairs Manager, said: “With the General Election campaign underway, we are appealing to our political leaders to put diabetes on the national agenda so that improving diabetes care is a priority for the next Government.

“The fact that four in 10 people living with diabetes are still not receiving all the essential health checks and services they need to stay healthy is not good enough. Poor care is fuelling soaring rates of life-threatening, diabetes-related complications such as blindness, amputations and strokes, which are not only personally devastating, but extremely costly to the health service.

We are asking our supporters to add their voice to our campaign by raising awareness

“We are asking our supporters to add their voice to our campaign by raising awareness of the urgency of the situation with their local candidates that they come into contact with.

“We have produced an General Election pack to help them with this, which is available to download on our website. By putting diabetes on the national agenda, we can ensure that lives are saved and costs to the NHS greatly reduced.”

To download the pack, click here.

To download a template letter, click here.