The eighth Elsie Bertram Memorial lecture will be given next month, on the subject of protecting the sight of diabetics.

The annual lecture commemorates the very significant contribution the late Elsie Bertram MBE made to diabetes services in Norfolk.

Mrs Bertram died in October 2003 at the age of 91. She had developed an active interest in diabetes as a result of her two sons developing the disorder. Diabetes continues to be one of the fastest growing diseases in Norfolk, with 3,000 new diagnoses a year locally.

The lecture will be at 7pm on Tuesday, April 10, at the John Innes Conference Centre, near to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Professor Paul Dodson, consultant physician in ophthalmology from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, will give the lecture on 'How can I protect my sight if I have diabetes?'

Diabetes is still one of the commonest causes of blindness in the UK and worldwide, and about 40pc of the 2.5 million people with diabetes in the UK have some diabetic eye disease, called diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Professor Dodson will talk on the prevention of DR and visual loss.

The free public lecture is open to all who are interested.

Diabetes can result in premature death, ill health and disability yet these can often be prevented or delayed by good diabetic control and high-quality care.