Report reveals factors behind success of type 1 diabetes specialist services

Commitment to better care, dedicated pump clinics and a focus on structured education are all factors that have contributed to successful type 1 diabetes specialist services.
The findings have been published in a National Diabetes Audit (NDA) report called Feedback from the Most Successful Type 1 Specialist Services.
The audit revealed that people with type 1 diabetes achieved an HbA1c of 58mmol/mol (7.5%) in up to 40% in some centres, but only 20% in others.
The data was collected from top performing centres which oversee the healthcare of more than 500 people with type 1 diabetes.
Responses were recorded by two thirds of the performing clinics with the greatest number of people having achieved HbA1c levels lower than 58mmol/mol.
All the services stated that commitment to type 1 diabetes care, a desire to do better, structured education and dedicated pump clinics had been important factors to helping them achieve the successful target rates.
At least 50% of the responding services said that diabetes specialist nurse training and employing specific staff trained for type 1 diabetes had helped. Providing online and phone support and better access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) also received mentions in the report.
The authors also noted that combining their services with psychology access, integrating better with community services and introducing a multidisciplinary team style of working helped to improve care outcomes.
Dr Bob Young, a Consultant Diabetologist and Clinical Lead for the audit, said: “The [audit] identified a number of themes that they believe contribute to their relative success. These have been re-circulated to check accuracy. It is hoped that they will now be widely distributed.”