A pioneering training programme to combat one of Bradford's biggest killers of the elderly has been launched.

In the first course of its kind in the country, training is being offered to nursing and residential homes in the district to help staff spot the symptoms of diabetes in their residents and ensure proper treatment.

The course, organised by the Diabetes Training Centre in Idle and partly funded by Bradford's Health Action Zone, follows a damning report by the British Diabetes Association which estimated up to ten per cent of residents in care suffered from the disease but did not receive adequate care.

Linda Goldie, director of the training centre which runs courses nationwide, said: "It's raising diabetes awareness as well as looking for signs of the symptoms because in the long term, if you don't look after diabetic patients properly, they die.

"They need to have their feet checked and eyes checked. Just because they are in a home, it doesn't mean that someone's going to do that."

If left untreated, diabetes can lead to heart attacks, blindness and renal failure. The six month course will focus on practical training in residential homes through GPs and nurses. Students will also receive a training pack and attend study days and workshops at the centre.

Diabetes Co-ordinator for Bradford Health Authority, Gill Wiseman, said the course would become compulsory for all nursing and residential homes wanting to register with the authority. "It's all about tackling inequalities and getting good care for the elderly," she said.

The launch coincided with the publication of a national report into diabetes services which said that one third of patients in the country were dissatisfied with waiting times for consultants and half of patients from ethnic minority groups didn't understand diabetes control. But Bradford was named as a good example of how to manage diabetes, offering 4,000 patients special clinics and organising regular awareness events for both public and health professionals.

Chief Executive of Bradford Health Authority Ian Donnachie, said: "I have taken immense pleasure in seeing the development of the training centre here and this coincides with the huge work on diabetes in Bradford supported by HAZ."

Diabetics are prone to eye cataracts, which can cause blindness, and foot infections, which can lead to gangrene and in the worst cases, amputation.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.