PROfessionals United by Diabetes (PROUD)
Professionals United by Diabetes (PROUD) is a network for professionals working in the field of diabetes and related healthcare professions, who live with diabetes, or are close family members or carers of others living with the condition. PROUD members, therefore, combine their professional expertise with their personal experiences of the condition, and believe that their “dual insight” brings another dimension to the understanding of living with a life-long condition.
PROUD is an independent organisation that seeks to:
- Provide a mutually supportive discussion network for its members.
- Influence and lobby for the continuing improvement in the health and quality of life of people with diabetes and those at risk of developing diabetes.
- Develop educational initiatives based on members’ dual insights and experiences of the condition, to benefit the diabetes and health service community more widely.
- Operate as a consultation group for organisations for appropriate research and other projects.
Since the establishment of PROUD in 2004, its membership has expanded to include other healthcare professionals working in the diabetes field and any healthcare professional who works in the NHS or private health sector. The majority of members live in the UK, but there are currently members who live in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the US.
PROUD’s continuing project is the production of “Diabetes Narratives”, which are short accounts by our members of significant events in their lives with diabetes. To view the narratives, or to find out more about PROUD, visit www.proud-diabetes.org.uk, or contact Mary MacKinnon at mackdiab@aol.com.
Mary MacKinnon, PROUD
NHS Diabetes
NHS Diabetes has recently launched a drive to improve diabetes services and patient care quality across the country with its new Commissioning Guide.
This web-based resource aims to offer practical support, templates, information and case studies to assist diabetes commissioners and local health providers in identifying and delivering national priorities. It aims to support an informed approach to designing and improving services in line with the World Class Commissioning competencies to deliver the diabetes National Service Framework.
The guide describes what needs to be commissioned, and provides a set of examples of how this has been tackled by some health communities and the impact these initiatives have on people with diabetes.
The site will enable commissioners to work their way through the four steps involved in delivering high-quality diabetes care. As well as offering an abundance of case studies, patient narratives and useful information, the site also allows users to complete a health needs assessment and provides useful links.
The website will be constantly in development over the next 12 months, so your feedback is important. You can let us know how we can improve the guide through the feedback forms on the site or by contacting us at: commissioning@diabetes.nhs.uk
The Commissioning Guide will include the following care guides, which will be released throughout the year ahead:
- Diabetes and pregnancy.
- Diabetes for children and young people.
- Diabetes diagnosis and continuing care.
- Diabetes and mental health.
- Inpatient diabetes.
- Foot care and diabetes.
- Diabetes and kidney care.
- Diabetes and learning difficulties.
- Diabetes and retinal screening, neurology and cardiovascular care.
- Diabetes care for older people and those with complex needs.
- End-of-life care.
- Prevention and risk assessment.
The website is available at: http://www.diabetes.nhs.uk/our_work_areas/commissioning_guide/ (or http://tinyurl.com/yz89vwl).
For further information not available on the website please contact NHS Diabetes via email at: commissioning@diabetes.nhs.uk
Oliver Jelley, NHS Diabetes
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