Nurses to get toolkit on managing hospital patients with diabetes
- Published: 19 November 2008 13:35
- Author: Clare Lomas
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- Last Updated: 19 November 2008 13:35
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A new toolkit to help nurses improve the care of hospitalised patients with diabetes is being piloted across the UK.
Developed by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the ThinkGlucose kit is designed to educate frontline nurses about diabetes and encourage them to work with patients to manage their condition while on the ward.
According to research from the institute, one in five inpatients has diabetes, regardless of their reason for admission.
The toolkit is being trialled for five months at five trusts, including Royal United Hospitals Bristol and Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, and will be rolled-out to the wider NHS from April 2009.
Initial results from test sites using the toolkit have shown that it has freed up time for specialist diabetes nurses to focus on patients that need most attention.
Sandra Corry, programme lead at the NHS Institute, said: 'Patients with diabetes who are being admitted to inpatients wards often know more about how to care for their condition than the frontline staff. We're developing this toolkit to educate staff and to encourage them to work with patients to manage the diabetes.
'Results so far have been heartening and show that making small changes to care can make big differences in patient experience,' she said.
