The Link: Vol 13 No 7

Royal College of Nursing Children and Young People’s Diabetes Community
Members of the Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes Special Interest Group have, like those of other RCN groups and forums, been thinking hard about how they will function within the new format of the Children and Young People (CYP) field of practice at the RCN.

As part of the restructuring of the group, we have changed our name to the CYP Diabetes Community – please make a note of this, as we would hate to lose anybody who has been part of the group over the past 20 years!

The committee has now finalised details for the Annual Conference, entitled HbA_1c – What makes a difference? to be held on 11 November 2009 at Reading Town Hall (Blagrave Street), a few minutes’ walk from Reading train station.

As many of you will know, we are now running our conference alongside the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (BSPED). In addition to promoting multidisciplinary education, delegates registering for the nursing programme on the 11 November get automatic entrance to the medical diabetes programme on 12 November.

The nursing programme represents a multidisciplinary approach to diabetes management in children and young people with keynote speakers from both the UK and Europe, including Dr Rowan Hillson, National Clinical Director For Diabetes.

For further details of the programme, and to register and book accommodation, please go to: http://www.bsped.org.uk/professional/meetings/index.htm.

Earlybird registration for paediatric diabetes nurses (before 1 October 2009) is £145 for BSPED members or £205 for non-BSPED members.

Rebecca Thompson, RCN CYP

NHS Diabetes
We are getting close to the National Diabetes Inpatient Audit Day – an NHS Diabetes survey that aims to take a snapshot of inpatient activity, care and patient experience in all acute hospitals in England. It runs during the week commencing 21 September 2009. NHS Diabetes has produced a flyer called It’s Time to Plan to remind healthcare professionals to get ready for the audit.

The audit will provide information on the current staffing levels for inpatient diabetes, the standards of care provided, and the size of the problem in terms of patient numbers, morbidity, harm and patient dissatisfaction. Not only will this inform the national picture but individual Trusts will be able to benchmark themselves against others. This is set against a background that includes problems such as:

• Errors in insulin prescribing rank among the highest of all drug errors.
• Half of all hospital acquired heel ulcers occur in people with diabetes.
• Only 50% of Trusts employ diabetes inpatient specialist nurses.
• Surveys of patients’ experiences report a worrying picture of inpatient diabetes care.

The long-term aim is to develop a process of annual re-audit to encourage innovations in care and establish the specialty of inpatient diabetes.

Oliver Jelley, NHS Diabetes

Diabetes UK
The words “good practice” and “best practice” provoke a lot of debate in healthcare professional circles: among other things, the conflict between self-imposed standards, national guidelines and the need to provide healthcare that meets people’s individual needs.

To stimulate this debate and to encourage “good” or “best” practice, Diabetes UK set up its Shared Practice database, a web-based resource that healthcare professionals can use to submit details of real-life projects. Healthcare professionals working in other parts of the UK can then use this information when developing new projects intended to improve the health and quality of life of people with diabetes. Examples vary from a wide range of care topics, so there will be something of interest for everyone.

Submissions are now welcome for the Diabetes UK Shared Practice Award 2010. The award recognises achievement and excellence in diabetes care to support shared learning.

For more information about the database and the award please visit www.diabetes.org.uk/sharedpractice

Sarah Milsom, Diabetes UK