Posted on Monday 17th November 2014
ThinkGlucose
Surveys in the UK have shown that patients with diabetes who are admitted to hospital do not always get the standard of care they should expect.
Over the last three years the diabetes staff at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals have been working hard to ensure a much better experience for our patients.
The project is called ThinkGlucose. The team has made many modifications including a new blood glucose monitoring chart, diabetes guidelines and face-to-face education for all healthcare professionals involved in diabetes patient care.
These initiatives will enable all staff to have a much better understanding of the needs of people with diabetes when they are admitted to hospital. Particularly to recognise the important aspects of easily identifiable patterns of sub-optimal glucose control at specific times of the day. The new information signposts ward staff to refer to specific guidelines about how to appropriately implement treatment or contact the specialist diabetes team for help.
Surveys have been carried out in some of the wards showing that these changes have already improved many aspects of care and safety including better blood glucose control and less hypos.
This work will be ongoing and aims to ensure that Guy's and St Thomas' provides the best quality of patient experience possible.