Out of hours support for children with diabetes

A pilot out of hours service for paediatric diabetes patients led by a CUH consultant has been hailed a success by patients and their families.

 

The 16-week pilot involved CUH and four other hospitals delivering out of hours specialist telephone support for young people with type 1 diabetes.

 

A team of paediatric diabetes clinicians provided advice to improve patient experience and ensure families get the support they need without having to come to hospital.

 

Some comments from families who used the service included: “It is essential, especially for newly diagnosed patients”; “Keep it going, very helpful”; and “I hope this service continues, it’s very helpful.”

 

 

This service was a result of work by the East of England paediatric diabetes network of which CUH is a member. The network consists of the 17 paediatric diabetes units across the region and aims to help units work together and provide consistent care across the region.

 

There are around 2,800 children or young people with diabetes in the East of England and at CUH we see around 284 patients. During the pilot 193 calls were received and 63 hospital attendances were avoided.

 

Dr Nadeem Abdullah, who led the project on behalf of the network, said: “The project was very successful and with huge national interest. We would be planning to set up this permanently across whole of the East Anglia. It really is a wonderful example of working together and sharing recourses.”

 

 

 

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