NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group has invested an additional £500,000 into improving diabetes care this year, taking the total amount to 1.9 million over the last 3 years.

The investment is part of a national NHS England diabetes transformation fund, which has been improving treatment and care for the 32,000 adults and children in Sheffield diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

The funding has been invested into education to help patients to be better informed about how to manage their diabetes and specialist teams have been expanded to improve diabetes care within hospitals and communities.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals has expanded its services to educate patients with Type 1 and 2 diabetes to develop their knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to manage their condition effectively. These services are available in more locations closer to where people live and at more accessible times, including evenings and weekends. An additional shorter session aimed at providing some key dietetic messages has also been introduced.

Educational sessions are also being delivered to target previously ‘hard to reach’ groups who are likely to benefit from learning more about how to effectively managing their diabetes.

Dr. Andrew McGinty, GP and Clinical Director at Sheffield CCG, said: “Over the past three years, Sheffield CCG and diabetes care providers in the city have worked together to secure additional health care investment in Sheffield through the diabetes transformation fund and ensured this resource works into key areas which have been improving outcomes for patients in Sheffield.

“Some of the funding has been used to provide more Primary Care Development Nurses, who are specialised in the treatment of diabetes, and have been working with GP practices across Sheffield to help them to better manage their patients in trying to reduce their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

“Educating patients on how to manage their diabetes and overall health and giving them practical tips and advice means that more people are able to confidently manage their condition and have a better quality of life.”

Other areas the funding has been utilised is the expansion of a multi-disciplinary foot care team to support early intervention and identification of foot problems amongst patients with diabetes. As a result of this, substantially fewer people are presenting with severe ulcers and average healing times of ulcers have fallen.

Finally, the funding has also allowed the expansion of the team of Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurses at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals to help people manage their diabetes better when they are in hospital leading to a reduction in length of stay in hospital for patients with diabetes.