Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 26 April 2024 at 18:33
Did you know there are about 300,000 people with diabetes in our region and each year EEAST receives about 10,000 emergency calls from people having a diabetes emergency?
Tomorrow (14th December) marks World Diabetes Day, and we’re taking the opportunity to thank staff for ensuring that a new hypo patient pathway has seen successful referral rates.
Many patients with severe hypos have had limited advice on hypoglycaemia avoidance, and the risks for hypoglycaemia, and GPs and hospital teams are not always made aware of these events. The Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) funded a team of project managers and educators across the east of England for two years with the aim to reduce hospital admissions and ambulance attendances as a result of hypos.
People with diabetes hypo attended by EEAST staff after a 999 call are referred to the new pathway, and are offered education sessions with the project’s clinical educators, where the cause and future prevention of hypoglycaemic episodes are discussed. There is also a leaflet available to give advice.
The diabetes hypo project went live in December and since then has received more than 1,400 referrals from crews. This is a fantastic result and each referral really does make a positive difference to each patient’s life – such as this one:
Mrs X suffered a severe hypo and was referred to the single point of contact (SPOC) by the ambulance crew. Her initial BM was 2.8 mmol/l, and she was treated with hypostop successfully by the crew and referred to education pathway via SPOC. The clinician documented on the referral that Mrs X has had loss of appetite and had not eaten since breakfast but had continued to have her insulin as normal. The clinician felt her medication should be reviewed.
Mrs X was contacted and, although feeling unwell and not eating properly, she had been giving herself her normal doses of insulin. The educator discussed with Mrs X the importance of contacting her GP/diabetes nurse if she feels unwell or appetite is low so that her insulin doses can be adjusted accordingly. Mrs X’s GP was also contacted and decided she should be referred to the district nurses for them to observe her carrying out her injections and to ensure the right dose at the right time.
Helen Hall, who leads the Trust’s involvement in the project, said: “All of these referrals would not be possible without the efforts of the crews throughout the region and so a big thank you to you all. Please refer all your hypo patients whether conveyed or not –think hypo think referral!”
Published 13th November, 2015