The Norwich and Norfolk Diabetes Trust
The Norwich and Norfolk Diabetes Trust's Services
Elsie Bertram MBE
The launch of the Norfolk Diabetes Appeal at the Castle Hotel, Norwich, October 1987.
Sir Harry Secombe, President of the British Diabetic Association, opens the Bertram Diabetes Centre at the West Norwich Hospital in 1989.
HRH The Prince Of Wales opens the Bertram Diabetic Eye Unit in 1994
HRH, Elsie Bertram and a basket of purple brussel sprouts
The Norwich and Norfolk Diabetes Trust (NNDT) was founded in 1987 by Elsie Bertram MBE and Dr Richard Greenwood, a local diabetes specialist.
Sadly Elsie died in October 2003 but the Trust is continuing with her work on behalf of Norfolk 's diabetes patients.
• Who are the Trustees?
- Dr Richard Greenwood (Chair)
- Maggie Flatman (Secretary)
- Joan Williams (Treasurer)
- Kip Bertram
- Dr Martin Hadley-Brown
- Professor Mike Sampson
- Chris Dicker
- Philip Norton
NNDT seeks to improve facilities for Central Norfolk's 25,000 diabetes patients. It provides equipment and facilities when NHS funds are not available and this has led to considerable improvement in the provision of services such as retinopathy screening.
NNDT also seeks to improve knowledge and awareness of the condition and its management, amongst patients, their relatives and healthcare professionals.
• What has NNDT achieved so far?
Through the Norfolk Diabetes Appeal, NNDT funded the building of Norfolk 's first dedicated diabetes centre, the Bertram Diabetes Centre, at the West Norwich Hospital . This was opened by Sir Harry Secombe, President of the British Diabetic Association, in 1989.
NNDT then funded East Anglia 's first dedicated diabetic eye facility, the Bertram Diabetic Eye Unit, which was opened by HRH the Prince of Wales in 1994. We have also funded the Bertram Diabetes Research Unit at the West Norwich Hospital and endowed a Department of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Medicine at the UEA. Both of these units are carrying out important research into the complications of and new methods for treating diabetes.
More recently we have supported the development of a second specialist diabetes clinic, the Elsie Bertram Diabetes Centre, at the new Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital.
We have also provided a second Mobile Diabetic Eye Screening unit based in North Norfolk to detect eye complications in patients under GP care.
• What is the Trust supporting at the moment?
We are currently supporting research into new ways of managing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. We are also planning to support an educational programme designed to help people with Type 2 diabetes to improve their control.
