WINNER

Improving Safety at Scale via Concise and Impactful Diabetes Training Across Health and Social Care

by Independent Diabetes Nurse Consultant

A workforce that understands diabetes is fundamental to safe care. Staff across all health and social sectors share the responsibility to prevent harm. People with diabetes are living longer, many with multiple co-morbidities and increasingly complex treatments. Yet diabetes is routinely managed by grassroots staff in a variety of settings, many lacking access to training. Joining up knowledge across all sectors is essential to safe care, enhancing cross-organisational communication, care integration and patient outcomes. The Diabetes 10 Point Training offers focused, relevant training for hospital staff, mental health workers, community nursing teams, adult social care workers and community support workers.

Judges’ comments:

“The Independent Diabetes Nurse Consultant has produced an impressive and well-executed programme targeting particularly at-risk individuals. It was clear that the patients were at the heart of this project, which the judges thought came out very strongly throughout the whole process. The objectives were smart, the results section clear, and the dissemination clever. An overall excellent project that can, and should be, translated to wider use.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Footcare Education in Primary Care

by Suffolk GP Federation

The initiative was to create a comprehensive foot screening education program that utilises both traditional and innovative training methods for primary care across the Integrated Care System (Suffolk and North East Essex). In order to enable accurate diabetic foot risk categorisation and appropriate referral based on the integrated care foot pathway, standardised virtual training sessions with clear objectives, utilising live polling systems, unique immersive 360 video and live facilitated sessions with a specialist podiatrist were developed. This ensured that the skills of staff undertaking diabetic foot screening are embedded in primary care despite COVID restrictions to healthcare delivery and training.

Judges’ comments:

“The Suffolk GP Federation has designed a thoughtful and innovative programme that has produced some impressive results. The team clearly identified the need for an education programme and used innovative methods to deliver it. The judges commended the collaborative approach taken to the project and thought the concept was sustainable and could be translated to other areas, where it is desperately needed.”

COMMENDED

Ensuring Recognition of Monogenic Diabetes Through a National Initiative

by Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Monogenic diabetes(MD) accounts for 3.6% of diabetes diagnosed < 30 years but ~80% are initially misdiagnosed, resulting in inappropriate management. An estimated 12,800 UK MD cases are still to receive a correct diagnosis, so a national transformation project was instigated to reduce unwarranted variation in referral/identification. We aimed to train a diabetes consultant and DSN in every Trust in England as a MD lead to increase awareness/referrals for genetic testing. A two day virtual introductory MD training course was developed/held on 4 occasions(June 2021-Oct 2022). Training resources were added to www.diabetesgenes.org, enabling self-paced access. Referral/pick-up rates were collated pre and post-training.

Judges’ comments:

“Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has created a well-designed and incredibly important initiative addressing a hugely under-diagnosed and unrecognised area. The entry itself was well-written, the results section impressive, and the judges agreed that the impact this programme could have on the diabetes community could be huge. A very strong submission with enormous potential.”

FINALIST

Diabetes: Start with the Diabasics

by University Hospital Southampton

Inspired by the ‘Surviving Sepsis Campaign’, we have created the ‘Start with the Diabasics’ initiative, which we believe is the first Inpatient Diabetes branded initiative, seeking to raise the hospital wide profile of the need for all ward-based healthcare professionals to support the basic diabetes care needs of their patients. It seeks to ensure that supporting diabetes care is ‘business as usual’, for all clinical staff. Since launch, awareness by other clinical teams of their role in supporting diabetes care has increased, referral numbers to the diabetes team and referral quality have reduced and increased respectively in a replicable initiative.

Judges’ comments:

“Diabetes: Start with the Diabasics is a passionate and impactful initiative. The judges agreed that there is a desperate need for this project and particularly liked that the posters reassured patients on the ward team’s diabetes knowledge. The messaging was brilliant, the feedback very positive, and the concept sustainable.”