Diabetes nurse facilitators

The role of the diabetes nurse facilitator is to support the development of diabetes management in general practice and to promote integrated care between the hospital and primary care.

Outreach service in primary care

The facilitators support the practice team with the following:

• organising the diabetes care–appointments, register, recall system and equipment
• assisting with diabetes audit
• identifying non-attenders for diabetes annual review
• identifying where patients attend diabetes annual review to avoid duplication
• setting up and running a diabetes clinic
• sitting in diabetes clinic to support the practice nurse and GP
• support GPs in practices where there is no practice nurse
• case discussion with the practice team
• promoting quality control of blood glucose meters
• provision of educational material
• interactive group discussion sessions with patients invited to the practice
• educational sessions with the practice team
• promoting appropriate referral of patients to specialised services
• support practice nurses and GPs starting patients on insulin.

Additional support for primary care

• telephone contact, acting as an advisor and resource for the primary care team
• insulin skills management sessions for community nurses and GPs
• educational update sessions for all community health professionals involved in the management of people with diabetes.

Health promotional activities

The diabetes nurse facilitators participate in community events to raise awareness about diabetes within the general public. This includes attending health fairs, running road shows and interactive discussion sessions at community centres.

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Diabetes specialist dietitians

Patients may be referred directly to the diabetes specialist dietitian for one to one dietetic advice for the following reasons:

• newly discovered diabetes where the practice chooses to provide all other aspects of care  
• existing diabetes and overweight
• existing diabetes and hyperlipidaemia
• existing diabetes, for dietary assessment, review and update.

Services Provided

• new patient clinic
• individual appointments for dietary assessment and review of diabetes (+/- overweight)
• group education sessions
• diabetes clinic-medical outpatients at Homerton
• diabetes clinic-St Bartholomew's hospital
• problem clinic
• ante-natal endocrine clinic
• patients with diabetes starting insulin therapy
• specific dietary education.

Outreach Service in Primary Care

The diabetes specialist dietitians support many primary care teams in the borough by providing an outreach service. This service is available for those GP practices that run a diabetes annual review clinic. 

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Diabetes specialist podiatrists

The foot health service is based at St Leonard's Hospital with outreach services at Homerton and selected health centres and GP surgeries.

St Leonard's Hospital
tel: 020 7683 4347
fax: 020 7683 4348

Homerton Hospital
tel:  020 8510 7133

Emergencies

There is a walk in emergency clinic at the foot health department,  St Leonard's every morning between 9am and 9.30 am Monday to Friday. Conditions treated are:

• ulceration
• infections
• ingrowing toenails
• suspicious growths
• fractures
• cuts/sores.

The emergency clinic is for emergencies only.  If your problem is not assessed as an emergency,  you will be asked to return for a routine appointment.

Multi-Disciplinary Foot Clinic

This service is run weekly at Homerton. The service is led by a diabetes consultant and specialist diabetes podiatrists.  Diabetes specialist nurses and footwear specialists are closely involved in assessing and providing for patient need.

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Lay educators

A City and Hackney wide project

At Homerton we have diabetes lay educators who have been trained in diabetes education.  They organise and run educational groups in many different locations and languages within City and Hackney.  

Surgeries and Community Centres

The diabetes lay educators have also designed and produced educational materials for use by health care professionals and patients.  For more information contact Pergul or Evrim on 020 8510 7182. The lay educators are keen to carry out educational session in and around the community,  and have visited many GP surgeries,  health fairs and community centres to raise awareness of diabetes,  provide diabetes screening and run education sessions for people with diabetes or at high risk of diabetes. 

If you would like to have sessions in your centre or would like a referral please ask your GP to contact Pergul or Evrim 020 8510 7182.

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