The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has launched a new treatment package for diabetics that will cut costs for the patients and ensure proper care. While the package is free for Emiratis, the cost will be considerably cheaper for expatriates than regular treatment. Patients will be distributed glucose testing devices to check their blood sugar levels at home, a senior doctor said. The device and strips will be given at a third of the market cost, he said. Dr Mohammad Farghaly, head of acute and chronic care, said the package will make sure that diabetics are being taken care of according to international standards and guidelines. The package is available at all the 13 Public Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across Dubai. Besides the usual blood tests like random and fasting, doctors will also test patients for their haemoglobin level. This new test is called Haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and shows how high your blood sugar has been on an average over the last 8 to 12 weeks. \"This is much more accurate than random testing,\" said Dr Ahmad Bin Kalban, CEO of Primary Health Care. HbA1C tests will be done with state-of-the art equipment which gives results within four minutes. Earlier, it would require days to get the results from the labs. Dr Kalban said the three-year screening of Dubai residents will end this year and results will show how best to deal with the diabetes epidemic. He said the number of people affected by the debilitating disease is increasing and now reportedly affects 24 per cent of the UAE population. From / Gulf News