Noticeboard: Vol 13 No 9

Shared medical records
Q At a recent meeting of the DSNs working across Bristol, the problem of shared patient medical records was highlighted in view of the recent directive from the Department of Health.

In the absence of an electronic shared patient record, accessible to all, we wondered how other teams keep combined records? The difficulty arises particularly with telephone consultations when medical records may not be available, and with individuals attending DSN appointments at the diabetes centre. We do not have space to store  medical records for all people with diabetes, and recalling them from storage is costly and time-consuming for every face-to-face or telephone contact, but the benefits of having combined up-to-date shared records would be enormous.

We wondered how other teams are coping with this dilemma, and would welcome any ideas.

Catherine Offer, DSN, North Bristol NHS Trust

Insulin pumps on holiday
Q One of the people attending our diabetes centre is 28 years old and has had type 1 diabetes for 14 years. She commenced insulin pump therapy 6 months ago and feels that she is managing well with only the occasional mild episode of hypoglycaemia, which she easily manages herself. Her most recent HbA1c level was 7.2% (55 mmol/mol).

The lady in question is getting married soon, and is planning to spend her 2-week honeymoon in Mexico. She is planing on going to the beach, and anticipates spending up to 6 hours there each day. She has been thinking about what to do with her insulin pump, and is uncertain whether she actually wants to wear on these days. She has asked what she should do with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jacky Ryder, DSN, Bournemouth

Injecting glucagon
Q We are currently looking into a training programme for teaching staff in schools regarding glucagon injections. This is in light of recent International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes guidelines and increasing requests from parents. Does anyone have experience of introducing this training into schools and have any information that they are willing to share?

Helen Edwards, Paediatric DSN, Wiltshire