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Type 2 Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is when the body is unable to control the sugar (glucose) level in the blood and it continues to rise, causing high blood sugar. The information on this page is about Type 2 diabetes.

  • Type 2 diabetes is caused by problems with a hormone in the body called insulin. With Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas (an organ that produces hormones) doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin and it may not work effectively
  • Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin. To find out more about Type 1 diabetes, visit: Type 1 diabetes | NHS inform

For more information on type 2 diabetes, visit:

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes:

Many people can have type 2 diabetes without realising. Some people don’t experience any symptoms, and others only experience some. It is important to get diagnosed as soon as possible. To find out more about getting diagnosed, visit:

Typical symptoms include:

  • Increased thirst
  • Increased tiredness
  • Weight loss
  • Increased need to urinate
  • Cuts or ulcers healing slowly
  • Recurring infections
  • Blurred vison

To find out more about the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, visit: Type 2 diabetes - Illnesses & conditions | NHS inform

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes:

There are a number of different reasons why type 2 diabetes may develop. This can include:

  • Lifestyle e.g., unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and overconsumption of alcohol
  • Genetics
  • Long-term chronic stress
  • Psychological trauma
  • Medications (e.g., steroids)

To find out more about causes of type 2 diabetes, visit: Type 2 diabetes - Illnesses & conditions | NHS inform

Complications of Type 2 Diabetes:

If diabetes isn’t treated, it can cause long-term health problems. It is important to inform patients of the potential risks to ensure that they attend their regular check-ups and know what issues to look out for. Untreated diabetes can cause:

  • Damage to the back layer of the eye, this is known as retinopathy.
  • Arteries can become narrow; this can cause an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
  • Problems with the circulation and nerves in feet and hands, this can cause foot ulcers. Nerve damage is known as neuropathy.
  • Blood vessels that supply the kidneys can become damaged and cause kidney problems. This is known as nephropathy.

If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it is extremely important that you attend all your regular check-ups to make sure you have not been affected by any of these complications.

To find out more about type 2 diabetes complications, visit: Type 2 diabetes - Illnesses & conditions | NHS inform

Treating and living with Type 2 Diabetes:

If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it can be possible to control your symptoms and make them easier to cope with by making some changes to your lifestyle. This can include:

Our services:

Control It

We offer a 2-hour group education session for type 2 diabetes patients known as Control It. The aim of Control It is to encourage patients to gain a better understanding of their diabetes through increasing their knowledge and self-management skills. The topics covered within the session are:

  • Know It – To understand what type 2 diabetes is and how the short/long term effects of blood glucose
  • Eat It – To have a better understanding of healthy eating and how your diet impacts your health and your type 2 diabetes
  • Move It – To be aware of the benefits of exercise and keeping active and to explore the challenges related to this
  • Plan It – To increase the skills and knowledge to make realistic changes through setting manageable goals
  • Live It – To support participants to successfully manage different factors of their lives that may influence their type 2 diabetes including stress and sleep, and signposting to additional helpful resources

Control It offers interactive learning and discussions in a relaxed, non-judgemental environment, as well as the opportunity to ask questions and learn from other members of the group.

Patients that are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will receive a letter with information about Control It and asking whether they wish to opt in. If you have not received a letter or you are not newly diagnosed but would like to attend a Control It session, contact the NHS Orkney Public Health Department on:

Control It sessions are delivered when a certain number of participants have opted in to attend the session, therefore, please keep in mind that sessions will only be offered to you once it has reached participant capacity.

MyDesmond programmes for Type 2 Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes

MyDesmond is a digital interactive platform that offers three educational programmes:

  • Type 2 Diabetes – MyDesmond type 2 diabetes online management programme is a free online health education and behavioural change programme that will help you set personal goals around diet, exercise, and wellbeing to support you in making sustainable healthy lifestyle choices. This programme is suitable for anyone with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes regardless of whether you are newly diagnosed or have been diagnosed for some time.
  • Lets Prevent - MyDesmond Lets Prevent programme is a free online health education and behavioural change programme that will put you on the path to better health and wellbeing. Lets Prevent will help you set personal goals around diet, exercise, and wellbeing to support you in making sustainable healthy lifestyle choices and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lets Prevent is suitable for individuals that have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes and find themselves at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  • Baby Steps - MyDesmond Baby Steps programme is a free online health education and behaviour change programme that supports and empowers those who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Baby Steps recognises there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to life after gestational diabetes. This program will inform, inspire, and motivate you as you work towards making small changes that will have a big impact on your long-term health – with the ultimate goal of decreasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

To access any of these programs you must be 18 years of age or over, have an email address, and be able to access the internet via a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

The features of the MyDesmond Type 2 Diabetes, Lets Prevent, and Baby Steps programmes include:

  • Interactive educational materials such as short videos, weekly learning sessions, and activities for you to view as quickly or slowly as you like
  • Health trackers such as HbA1c, weight, healthy eating and blood pressure
  • Ask Experts – where users have access to the Leicester Diabetes Centre team to help with their questions
  • Chat – users can talk to each other and ask questions about their successes and challenges relating to their diabetes
  • Buddies – users can add up to 5 of their family/friends to join their journey with them. They can compete against each other in daily or weekly challenges, and the buddies will have access to useful information about type 2 diabetes

If you would like to find out more about any of the three MyDesmond diabetes education programmes, please contact your GP or Midwife to discuss further and find out if the programme is appropriate for you. If your GP or Midwife feels that one of the programmes will support your health needs, they will sign you up via your email address, and you will receive an automated email with a code and a link to register. Please follow the registration instructions on screen, or for further advice visit MyDesmond | Register and watch the registration instruction video.

Useful resources

Diabetes UK:

Diabetes UK is a UK based research charity dedicated to providing high-quality information and resources for people with diabetes.

Diabetes UK provides reliable information on all things diabetes related, including information on type 1, type 2 and pre-diabetes, how to look after your condition, diet and exercise, and living with diabetes.

It also provides a learning zone, a news section, helpline, a forum to connect with others, a podcast and more.

To visit Diabetes UK and find out more, visit: Diabetes UK

My Diabetes My Way:

My Diabetes My Way is a free and easy to use platform that allows patients with diabetes to access their NHS diabetes health record online at any time. My Diabetes My Way allows you to set and monitor your goals, and record your activity levels, blood glucose, weight, and blood pressure results. This allows you to have more control over your health and helps support you in living a healthier lifestyle.

Features of My Diabetes My Way includes:

  • Able to monitor your agreed goals and targets
  • Records your home data to contribute to your healthcare record
  • Your latest results and all historical is recorded electronically
  • Your test results and measurements are explained
  • Learn more about your diabetes; watch videos, read articles and complete online courses

To learn more about My Diabetes My Way, visit: Homepage | Information Site (scot.nhs.uk)  

Useful websites:

Diabetes UK

Diabetes - NHS

Gestational diabetes - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Homepage | Information Site (scot.nhs.uk) – My Diabetes My Way

Recipe finder - Enjoy Food | Diabetes UK

Diabetes and exercise | Type 1 and type 2 | Diabetes UK

Prediabetes | Diabetes UK | Reduce risk type 2 diabetes

Healthier Families - Home - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Getting in touch

We shall be delighted to hear from you, so here are the various ways of contacting us:

The Balfour

By telephone to:
01856 888100
(during office hours)

01856 888000
(out of hours)

By e-mail to:
ORK.feedback@nhs.scot

By letter to the address below:

Foreland Road
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1NZ