Doctors, nurses and other stakeholders will work together during the National Diabetes Footcare Symposium to see how better they can help people with diabetes especially children.

National Advisor for Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr Isimeli Tukana says they will discuss complicated diabetes right down to just treating the sugar levels.

Dr Tukana says they also have other doctors present at the symposium who specializes in other areas but the priority is on the foot.

“But the main one is the foot, why foot? Because it’s the most visible. The heart attack, the stroke and that, you really can’t see until that happens. So if we have to tackle diabetes properly, we look at the feet. Amputation is the most physical signs Fijians can see, so meaning if we can control the sugar, and we reduce the amputation and automatically we are reducing all other complication, the blind, the kidney failure, the heart attack, the stroke.”

Dr Tukana adds that big amputations like below and above the knee are starting to decrease and they are moving into smaller amputations like removing a toe.

The National Diabetes Footcare symposium will end today.