By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

A DIABETIC Dundee bus driver yesterday recounted the toll of the disease on immediate members of his family.

Francis MacKay (59) told those gathered in Ninewells Hospital, to celebrate the official opening of a new diabetes centre there, that his mother and two sisters had diabetes and all died. His brother, daughter and son all have the disease.

“I don’t want my grandson to get it,” he said. “I also have a great grandchild just a few months old and I hope he doesn’t get it, but you never know.”

The very matter-of-fact delivery of that single patient made clear more than any scientific explanation just why world leading researchers and clinicians based at the hospital are investigating genetic links to the disease.

But for many people obesity is a factor in the development of the disease and Mr MacKay used the terms “stocky,” “very fat” and “well built” to describe members of his family.

Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore, who officially opened the new £800,000 centre, and guests were told by Dr Graham Leese, the consultant who heads NHS Tayside’s diabetic service, that there was “an epidemic of diabetes.”

Over the last decade there had been a more than doubling of patients diagnosed with diabetes across Tayside, rising from around 7500 in 1997 to exactly 15,884 this week.

“I am afraid all predictions are that trend is going to continue to increase,” said Dr Leese, adding that would mean more work for everyone, both in GP surgeries and in hospital clinics.

Professor Andrew Morris outlined world-leading research that was going on locally and praised the willingness of local people to participate in clinical trials and research projects.

Over the last two years 12,000 people in Tayside had participated in diabetic research, a fact he described as “truly remarkable.”

He too put into sharp focus the extent of the diabetes epidemic when he said, “One in 25 of the people you see on the streets of Tayside has diabetes.”

The Strathmore Diabetes Centre was named to reflect the strong support the countess has given over the years. In unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion, she indicated it was the fourth time over a number of years that she had been called in to perform the opening of an extension to the diabetic centre, reflecting the relentless rise in diagnoses of the disease.

Dr Leese said a move to a bigger centre became necessary because the previous centre at the hospital became too cramped to cope with the increasing numbers of patients and the expansion in services offered to patients with the disease.

He said that as well as advances in treatments and diabetic care, patients were also encouraged to take a more active part in managing their disease and patient education played a significant part in the work of the centre.

“The Strathmore Diabetes Centre is a magnificent facility to help staff deliver modern, up-to-date 21st century diabetes care, by providing dedicated space for specialist services and education,” said Dr Leese.

“People with diabetes have to think about what they eat, drink and what exercise they perform on a daily basis.

“Increasingly we are treating patients who have very complex conditions and are now frequently working closely with specialists in other medical areas.

“New treatments and new education packages are now available for patients who are treated with insulin and tablets.

“We are delighted with the new Strathmore Diabetes Centre and there are many people throughout Tayside who have helped us achieve this goal.

“On behalf of all our diabetes patients I would like to say a big thank you to every one of them.”

Significant charitable funds for the new centre were made available through the NHS Tayside Endowment Fund.