17^th July 2017

AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

LIDL LINKS UP WITH DIABETES IRELAND TO OFFER FREE SCREENING FOR STAFF AND CUSTOMERS

As part of its ongoing commitment to a happy and healthy workplace, which will see a major  investment by the retailer, Lidl Ireland is delighted to announce the roll-out of an intensive community screening programme aimed at raising awareness of the growing numbers being diagnosed with Prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

The award winning Lidl Health & Wellness programme is available to all 5,000 employees and supports wellbeing, mental health, nutrition and an active lifestyle. To increase awareness and early detection, the retailer has joined forces with Diabetes Ireland to offer free diabetes screenings for customers in locations across the country.

According to research from Healthy Ireland there are 1,158,547 adults in Ireland that need to consider making changes to their daily behaviours in terms of eating healthily and being more active. The total number of people living with diabetes in Ireland is estimated to be 225,840 according to research from Diabetes Ireland.

The screening service started on Monday, 17^th July and will see a purpose-built Lidl double decker bus arrive at Lidl stores, warehouses and regional offices at 92 locations across the island over a three month period, targeting the 5,000 members who are part of the Lidl team.

Lidl employees book their appointment online, and board the custom built bus for the screening which involves a personal and family history questionnaire; a finger prick test, BMI measurements and waist circumference measurements with the analysis of the medical data provided immediately and confidentially to the employee. Customer screenings are located in an adjacent area and will involve a diabetes risk assessment and screening. This data helps individuals focus on areas that might need attention in order to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Speaking about the programme, Maeve McCleane, HR Director for Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland said;

“This extensive programme and €300,000 investment by us in delivering this comes on the back of an initiative we undertook two years ago where we rolled out cardiac screening. By investing this sum of money we are sending out a clear message to our team that we are invested in their health and wellbeing. Just as important is our ability to reach people all over the country and since we have 1.5million shoppers per week we are delighted to partner with Diabetes Ireland to offer free diabetes screening to our customers at the same time. Together we hope to raise awareness of the risk factors and encourage more people to reflect on their lifestyle.”

Lidl has partnered up with Diabetes Ireland to offer members of the public access to free diabetes screening in 10 locations. No appointment or pre-booking is necessary and specialist Diabetes Ireland personnel will be on hand to offer advice and guidance on the condition (A full list of locations, dates and times are provided at the end) and also on www.diabetes.ie

Speaking at the launch, which was attended by Minister for Health Simon Harris TD,  Dr Anna Clarke, Diabetes Ireland says;

“Diabetes Ireland is delighted to partner with Lidl Ireland in rolling out this important initiative, which we hope will help people across the country better understand the risk factors associated with Type 2 diabetes, how to identify those risk factors in their own lifestyle and correct the modifiable ones,  and proactively manage their health. We are delighted to have the support of Lidl on a national and community level and to partner with their team in order to take this roadshow around the country.”

The Lidl Health & Wellness double decker bus will tour the country from July 17^th to September 16^th.

Customer screenings will take place between 10am and 4pm in the following locations:

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For further information or to arrange a spokesperson, please contact:

Lidl:
Claire Moran, Senior PR Manager / 087 337 2403 / [email protected]

Diabetes Ireland:

Joan Moloney /086 316 7041 / [email protected]