'There are not many days when you don’t meet a patient with diabetes'

I was up in Glasgow for the Diabetes UK annual conference last week.

Diabetes is an important topic for nurses - and for us at Nursing Times, one which we marked with our diabetes special that included a range of useful practice articles - after all, there is not many days go by when you don’t meet a patient who has diabetes.

Some shocking statistics about lower limb amputations were revealed. Shocking in numbers and shocking because, for the most part, this is a preventable complication of diabetes. 80% of people who have a lower limb amputation die within five years.

Proper foot care is at the heart of prevention which is why another statistic, that 2% of foot ulcers occur while patients with diabetes are under care in hospital, is important. If foot ulcers can develop under the noses of health professionals then something is wrong.

Diabetes UK launched their Putting Feet First campaign in Glasgow to try to get the message out about the need for better foot care. Nurse education is crucial and our free-to-access online learning unit produced with NICE is part of the solution. If you have not yet done it and want to be part of a better statistic (the number of nurses who are up-to-date on diabetic foot care) then get to it.