North West London Diabetes Nurse Consultant runner – up in Rowan Hilson award
Published on: 3rd May 2019
Ruth Miller, Diabetes Nurse Consultant has been awarded the runner-up position in the National Rowan Hilson Inpatient Safety Award for her diabetes 10 point training programme.
The diabetes 10 point training programme was first developed in 2014 and aims to improve the quality and safety of hospital diabetes care that people with diabetes receive. The training programme focuses on 10 key safety messages for clinicians, to help them better care for patients with diabetes. The training includes information around insulin administration and blood glucose levels.
The programme which takes 15-30 minutes is intended as basic training for all frontline staff. It doesn’t replace in-depth training but is designed to support staff with a card to easily refer back to.
Ruth explains: “I designed the training programme as it is key that everybody has basic training in caring for people with diabetes. People living with diabetes are the expert of their own condition as they live with it 365 days a year.
“However, there are times when they are unwell and may need hospital staff to support them in managing their diabetes. It is really important that all clinicians have knowledge of the condition as all staff have a shared responsibility in the safe care of patients. The programme is offered to all staff from housekeepers to consultants.”
Since Ruth launched the programme over 800 healthcare professionals have been trained. Feedback has shown that staff feel significantly more confident in managing people with diabetes. There has been at least a 10% increase in the amount of staff feeling like they can administer and prescribe insulin safely in each of the trusts that the programme was delivered in.
Over the last few years the programme has also been embedded in other settings in NW London, care home staff and community mental health workers now have a programme specifically tailored to them.
Lesley Robertson, Diabetes Programme Director shares her praise for the programme saying: “It’s great to see the diabetes work in North West London being recognised. Well done to Ruth and the team on this achievement.”
The winner and runner up entries will be published on the ABCD, Diabetes UK and DISN UK Group websites. The award ceremony takes place in May in Loughborough.
The Rowan Hilson awards aim to promote excellence in insulin safety. It is part of The Joint British Diabetes Society for Inpatient Care (JBDS-IP) which aims to improve inpatient diabetes care across the UK through the development and use of high-quality, evidence-based guidelines and inpatient care pathways.
To find out more information about Diabetes care in North West London, visit the Know Diabetes website: https://knowdiabetes.org.uk/
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