Ethnic minorities in British diabetic clinics: a questionnaire survey.

A questionnaire was sent by the British Diabetic Association to hospital consultant physicians caring for diabetic patients in the UK to estimate the number of ethnic minority patients attending British Diabetic clinics, and the availability of special facilities for their care. Sixty-two clinics were estimated to have at least 50 Asian patients, and 25 had at least 200 Asian patients. For Afro-Caribbeans the corresponding figures were 33 and 14 clinics, respectively. Clinics serving a relatively high proportion of these patient groups were situated primarily in Greater London, the Midlands and the North West. Approximately 40% of clinics with over 50 Asians had no specifically adapted diet sheets, and 34% had no hospital interpreter service. Tapes, slides or video presentations were available in only eight clinics. There is an urgent need to improve the provision of special facilities to clinics with substantial numbers of ethnic minority patients.