ACT Health's chief health officer Charles Guest will today publish the department's Diabetes Services Strategic Plan for 2008-12, which outlines a new two-pronged approach to tackling the diabetes epidemic.

Under the new system, newly diagnosed diabetics and those at risk of developing the condition will first go to their general practitioner for referral.

ACT Community Diabetes Service a new independent service available to all adult ACT residents will provide care, self management education and support. The services are likely to be based within expanded community health hubs located in Belconnen and Phillip.

Those with more acute symptoms will be referred to the existing ACT Health Specialist Diabetes Service, which will be expanded to provide acute care and treatment of adults and children with all forms of diabetes.

According to the report, the direct annual health-care cost of diabetes in Australia is estimated at $1billion and could reach $2.3billion by 2010.

The 2005 Federal Government-funded AUSdiab study predicted that by 2020 the number of ACT residents aged over 25 with diabetes would rise from about 13,000 to more than 22,000.

Ms Gallagher said the new strategy was essential to ease the burden on hospitals, which would not be able to cope with the predicted increase in diabetes patients.

''I think from the forecasts there's a general acknowledgement from everyone who works in the diabetes sector ... that if we are going to meet that demand we're going to have to change the way we do things.

''If we just accept that everything goes along the way it is now, the hospital system will not be able to cope, so there has to be a focus on keeping people out of hospital.''

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times