Workers in dental nurse jobs could help diagnose hundreds of thousands of people who have type 2 diabetes but do not know it.

A quick and simple finger prick test could be carried out on people who visit their dentist or optician, which will help identify some of the 850,000 people in the UK who are estimated to have the condition but don`t realise it.

Researchers say the screening method would mean that people at high-risk of getting the condition, such as those with a high waist circumference or those aged over 40, but who do not normally visit their GP, would be able to receive the test.

A study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, found that out of every 1,000 people in these high-risk groups who were given the prick test while visiting an optician, nearly 32% were referred on to their GP because of high blood sugar results.

A total of 1,002 people took part in the study. Some 318 were advised to see their doctor for further tests and an additional five were recommended to see their GP urgently. Of these, 162 visited their GP, 138 of whom had further investigations, nine were diagnosed with pre-diabetes and seven with diabetes.

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Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) has claimed there are as many as 500 nursing jobs that need filling in elderly care homes across the country.

NHI said that more than 30% of its members had reported problems in getting the right people for jobs in the past, highlighting the potential for people looking for work in private and voluntary homes.

The call comes amid warnings that a public sector employment embargo is leaving many newly qualified nurses with little choice other than to head overseas for work.

But a poll by NHI revealed that six out of 10 of its members had at least one job going, with almost 450 vacancies on offer overall. The poll also revealed that next year will see the creation of up to 1,364 nursing jobs.

Tadhg Daly, NHI chief executive, said: "We want nurses to be aware nursing homes are offering challenging and rewarding employment opportunities in their own local communities."

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Health workers in pharmacy jobs have been given information about the cost of treating diabetes with the publication of new figures.

Around 8.4% of spending on NHS medicines went towards drugs for the condition in 2010/11. This amounts to £725 million, which is a 41% increase on the ┬£513 million spent in 2005/06 when diabetes drugs totalled 6.6% of the overall budget.

The rise in spending on diabetes drugs outstrips the increase of the overall NHS medicines bill from 2005/06 to now.

One in 25 prescriptions handed out by doctors in England are now for diabetes - accounting for 38.3 million items, figures from the NHS Information Centre show.

The increase in volume is 41% when compared to how many drugs were prescribed for diabetes in 2005/06 (27.1 million).

This has been mostly attributed to the prescription of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles and affects 2.5 million people in the UK, with an additional 850,000 people thought to be undiagnosed.

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: "This information will help people and health professionals see the impact that caring for diabetes has on NHS prescribing; and support the NHS in planning for how to best address the condition moving forward."

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Those looking for nursing jobs in the UK should take note of the latest guidelines governing blood pressure diagnosis.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence now believes patients should be monitored for 24 hours at a time. This will provide a more accurate reading as people would be able to relax as they go about their daily business, all the while having their blood pressure monitored.

Certain factors which skew data, such as "white-coat hypertension" in which individuals became more anxious in the presence of medical staff, are likely to be removed once the new method is adopted.

Figures suggest as many as one in four people are wrongly diagnosed because physically being in a hospital or clinic can influence their level of calm.

The new guidance says people should instead wear a box on a belt and a cuff for a whole day to determine the rate of their blood pressure.

British Heart Foundation nurse Cathy Ross said: "This new guidance will refine the way we test and treat people for hypertension, particularly by helping to identify people suffering from white-coat hypertension."

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