A DIABETES charity is looking for volunteers to help find the 1,900 people in Swindon whose health is threatened by undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

The charity is recruiting volunteers to assess members of the public for their risk of having or developing the condition.

Diabetes can lead to health complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation. Half of people with Type 2 diabetes will show signs of some of these complications by the time they are diagnosed.

Risk assessments are carried out at Diabetes UK roadshows held in town centres, large events such as agricultural shows and at in-house events for businesses.

Those who are identified as being at moderate or high risk are encouraged to go to their GP for further testing to see if they are among the 1,900 people believed to have undiagnosed diabetes in the area.

Volunteers will be given full training once they have committed to attending one or more of the seven roadshows in the south west.

Events will take place over the summer and autumn in Swindon, Bristol, Penzance, Bath, Plymouth, Weston-super-Mare and Redruth. A training day for risk assessors will be held in Taunton on April 27 so they can learn about the role.

Among the tasks are raising awareness of diabetes and Diabetes UK, talking to those at risk of developing the condition, carrying out risk assessments and encouraging those at risk to visit their GP or practice nurse if necessary.

Emily Perriam, Diabetes UK south west volunteer development officer, said: “Risk assessments are a vital part of our work to encourage early diagnosis in order to help people avoid the devastating consequences of undiagnosed diabetes.

“Diabetes causes more deaths than breast and prostate cancer combined so increasing the awareness of the condition is extremely important.

“Diabetes UK provides all the necessary training and our roadshows are great events to be involved with.”

If people are interested in volunteering but are unsure whether they can attend roadshows as risk assessors, they are encouraged to contact Diabetes UK as there may be other event roles available.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 per cent of all cases of diabetes and usually appears in people over the age of 40. Symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes include passing urine more often than normal, increased thirst, extreme tiredness, unexplained weight loss and blurred vision.