Improving diabetes care: findings from the first National Diabetes Inpatient Audit undertaken in a mental health setting

Abstract

There has been no national audit of diabetes care provided in mental heath inpatient settings. This research was undertaken to reveal a snapshot of prevalence, services provided and the education delivered to both staff and patients, and in turn identify areas to improve care. West London NHS Trust participated in the pilot mental health National Inpatient Diabetes Audit. A cross-sectional review of diabetes care on 11 wards informed the provision of a safe patient-centred high-quality diabetes service. The prevalence of diabetes was 23%. Almost all care was undertaken by non-specialist staff, none of whom received regular ward-based training for diabetes. A minority of staff knew how to access emergency diabetic services, and 75% of patients did not receive any structured diabetes education. Patient satisfaction scores were high. Staff requested more opportunities to access diabetes educational resources. Diabetic care can be improved by modelling existing best practice from physical healthcare settings and by increasing diabetes education. Further data regarding evidence of safety, harms and quality is required to inform the development and commissioning of services to achieve the best diabetic care for this particularly vulnerable patient group.