New interactive foot screening assessment now available online

Managing the growing incidence of diabetes in England is set to be one of the major clinical challenges of the 21^st century. Estimates suggest that the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to 4.2 million by 2030, affecting almost 9% of the population. More than 64 000 people with diabetes in England and Wales are thought to have foot ulcers at any given time. Around 7000 leg, foot or toe amputations are carried out each year in people with diabetes, with an estimated cost in 2014/15 at around £1 billion (Kerr, 2017).

The Sussex and East Surrey Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) was asked by NHS England to lead the support of the National Diabetes Treatment and Care Programme in 2017. The driving force and fundamental principles behind the programme was to address the current inequity in service delivery and provision, which was leading to unwarranted variations in care and an unacceptable level of lower-limb amputations in people with diabetes in within Sussex and East Surrey STP.

For diabetes, the new NHS Long Term Plan (NHS, 2019) sets out a range of improvements for those at risk of type 2 diabetes and those living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This includes ensuring that in future all hospitals will provide access to multidisciplinary foot care teams.

A new resource
The Diabetic Foot Screening Interactive Assessment tool has been designed, with clinical input from Alistair McInnes and Mika Dave from East Sussex NHS Hospital Trust, to be used by health and social care professionals who care for people with diabetes and who already have knowledge of the procedures and skills involved. A complementary e-Learning programme is now also available to aid learning before completion of the assessment tool.

Given the variation in diabetes footcare across the country, the assessment tool aims to improve screening practices and increase prompt and appropriate referrals to diabetes specialist foot services. The assessment takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

The tool was developed in partnership between Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) and Sussex and East Surrey STP. The tool is also supported by the South East Clinical Network. It will be rolled out as part of a National Diabetes Treatment and Care Programme across the Sussex and East Surrey STP and beyond.

The e-Learning assessment is available via the e-LfH Hub, the Electronic Staff Record and via AICC links.

For more information and for details of how to access it, click here.