The information here is for professionals in Derby and Derbyshire. It is for those who are working with patients with type 2 diabetes and staff who are working with patients with symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
It may also be helpful to look at the latest NICE recommendations for patients with type 2 diabetes.
The Department of Health’s Guidelines for physical activity and alcohol may also be useful when working with patients with type 2 diabetes.
SystmOne Practices
You can send referrals electronically through Pathfinder on SystmOne.
Press F12 to access Pathfinder go to Specialities section>Diabetes>Derbyshire Structured Education Referrals> Refer to DCHS Diabetes Education.
Please note ‘sharing’ with our diabetes education unit will need to be in place to allow referral to be sent electronically. Open SystmOne and go to > Set up > Users and Policy > Share in Rules > Add Organisation.
EMIS Practices
The referral form can be in found in Template Manager or Resource Publisher > Document Templates.
Please contact us if you require further help in making a referral.
Supporting your patients at referral
Here are some things to think about when referring your patients to Diabetes Education. This is taken from research by Diabetes UK. Find out more here.
- Perhaps avoid the term ‘education.’ This may immediately create an image or a sense of classroom learning for many people living with diabetes. This could produce a negative reaction to the referral.
- Use the leaflet as a prompt to start the conversation rather than simply handing it over to the patient.
- Be upfront about your own time limitations to support people. Explain that the course goes into the real depth of getting on top of diabetes that you wouldn’t have the time to do. The course is run by experts in helping people with diabetes.
- Use stories about patients who have benefited from attending – for example their bloods got back on track, they felt more confident in managing their diabetes, they met other people who they could share experiences with and made new friends to support them in their diabetes journeys, and that they may even have fun.
- Acknowledge that you understand that being told that you have diabetes can create anxiety, that you know the patient may be scared. Explain that the course will really help to give them all the knowledge they will need to keep on top of their diabetes and keep well. Let the patient know that if they do attend, they can just sit and listen, and they don’t have to talk. This may reduce fears for many people.
- Some people may not be ready to attend, or even accept the fact that they have just been diagnosed. They may not be ready to attend in the first couple of weeks or months, but it might be worth checking in with them at their next appointment, and letting them know that the offer of education is always there for them to take up.
See the below video for more information on how you can support your patients to engage in Diabetes Education.
Videos
This video contains information for professionals on the Diabetes Education programme offers, ideas for how to help patients engage with Diabetes Education, the service referral criteria and how to refer.