My post incorporates three roles
Primary Care Diabetes Nurse Consultant.
Clinical Lead for Diabetes in North Wales Health Board (BCUHB)
National lead nurse for diabetes in Wales (NHS Executive secondment)
I have been fortunate in my nursing career, experiencing all aspects of diabetes across a range of healthcare settings. I have held clinical and strategic roles, so have a comprehensive appreciation of service planning, quality improvement and clinical developments
My background in diabetes spans from 2002 in research, then as a DSN in acute and primary care. For five years I was the diabetes clinical lead in North Wales and amongst other developments, I created locality based diabetes multi-disciplinary teams, standardised access to structured diabetes education programmes; promoted successful business plans for clinical psychology and point of care testing.
I spent 4 years working as a primary care nurse consultant. During this time I ran a specialist advisory forum to offer virtual bite-size education in long term condition management to primary and community health professionals. I have since developed a transformation ( and am still running) project to offer diabetes annual review with point of care testing, results and review in a one-stop cluster based diabetes hub. I continue to be a member of the PCDS committee.
Education and clinical competence are of particular interest. I have worked with clinical experts and academic colleagues to secure national approval of the career progression framework for specialist nursing and helped to establish the Wales Academy for Nursing in Diabetes (WAND). I hold an honorary contract with Swansea University and lead modules on their diabetes MSc.
On a national (Wales) basis, I am part of a team of clinical experts overseeing the formation of the Wales Diabetes Clinical Network. Part of this development includes national clinical pathway development, a DSN workforce survey for Wales and an update of competency assessments for new and experienced DSN roles.
This is my 3rd year as a Quality in Care judge. It is a privilege for me to participate in a process that recognises and rewards excellence in diabetes care.