Healthcare marketing communications specialists Onyx Health have joined forces with County Durham-based diabetes lifestyle experts Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors to help people affected by type 2 diabetes across the UK and ease pressure on the NHS.
Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors is a new service founded by husband-and-wife team Dr Amanda Porch and Dr Paul Baker. The medical duo are NHS doctors and have frontline hospital and primary care experience, supporting type 2 diabetes patients with their healthcare needs.
Based on their first-hand medical experiences, Amanda and Paul set up Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors with a desire to make a positive difference to the lives of people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and those currently living with the condition. As a result, they have devised a specialised diabetes lifestyle education and behaviour-change support programme to help people take back control of their health.
Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors is the UK's first independent doctor-led interactive service and is designed to reduce the potentially devastating effects of type 2 diabetes. The programme, which offers a personalised one to one medical guidance option, aims to give people the tools and knowledge they need to take control of their health using diet and lifestyle adjustments alongside expert advice to deliver and maintain long-term sustainable change.
Onyx Health were brought onboard by Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors, who were looking for a passionate and experienced health-focussed marketing team, to help spread the word of their offering, ideally located in the North-East. The Newcastle based agency is providing them with a range of communication and marketing services, including website design, brand development and a full media, PR and digital communication strategy.
Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors's co-founder, Dr Paul Baker, said, "Our motivation for Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors comes from having witnessed our family members and patients experiencing the debilitating effects of type 2 diabetes. We became acutely aware that structured professional help and reliable science-based information needed to be more easily accessible to people at risk of or living with type 2 diabetes.
"Through our ongoing work with the NHS, we continue to treat countless people with type 2 diabetes regularly. We believe that urgent action is needed early to get the condition under control and reversed as far as possible, through evidence-based lifestyle change and expert medical guidance. Our supportive programme is dedicated to maximising patients' potential for a better quality of life – and to create a future where they are empowered to become 'the experts'."
Onyx Health's Associate Director Louise Flintoft commented, "Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors' work is vitally important at a time when the NHS is recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and dealing with a critical care backlog. Giving patients the skills they need to take charge of their health could significantly ease the pressure on the NHS at this difficult time. There are currently 3.4 million people with type 2 diabetes in the UK, which is set to rise to 4.2 million by 2030. We are excited about working with Diabetes Lifestyle Doctors's innovative programme to help tackle this health crisis.