Are UK Hospitals Taking Diabetes Seriously?
Cases of diabetes are increasing to unprecedented levels, and, at the same time, the spectre of impending reforms looms portentously over the NHS. Charity Diabetes UK is taking the lead in highlighting the dangers of ignoring the diabetes problem during any process of any organisational change. It has undertaken an audit of diabetes provisions at UK hospitals (a project known as Diabetes Watch) and has reported that, already, there are three hospitals in the UK that don’t have any diabetes specialist nurses to care for inpatients.
Barbara Young, chief executive at Diabetes UK, has expressed concern that there is evidence of a decrease in the number of nurses specialising in diabetes treatment on the frontline. This is a particular concern when the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes is rising, and when diabetes can have the same effect on the risk of someone dying as living in poverty (as reported in a recent study undertaken at Edinburgh University).
There is no shortage of evidence proving that diabetes specialist nurses (DSNs) play an important role in making sure patients get the right medication, keeping hospital admissions down, and reducing the length of time those patients admitted to hospital have to remain there.
According to Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, NHS Trusts are ignoring warnings and not thinking about the long-term implications of their decisions for patients. The Government’s Spending Review means that the situation could get worse, with 10% of specialist nurses facing possible redundancy.
Specialist services are vital for quality patient care, and ultimately help to keep people out of hospital, keeping costs down in the long term. Diabetes UK has written to Andrew Lansley (secretary of state for health) urging him to ensure that his department challenges NHS Trusts that are cutting frontline staff to the detriment of diabetics.
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