Diabetes specialist nurse Debora Brown, has been appointed as a Diabetes UK clinical champion.
Ms Brown from Harrogate and District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of 20 clinical champions selected this year. She has over 20 years of experience managing the condition in both primary and secondary care. Ms Brown will be in the role for two years, where she will work to improve the care provided to patients with diabetes. She becomes the third diabetes specialist nurse to be appointed a clinical champion, joining Claire Neely and Ruth Miller, who took up the role last year.
She said: ‘I will be focusing on hospital and community diabetes care for the over 75s, and promoting educational programmes for both staff and people with diabetes. Education is an integral part of diabetes management, and I want to engage all providers of diabetes care in my locality to improve the service currently being offered.’
The Diabetes UK clinical champion programme was set up last year, and now has 29 healthcare professionals in the roles. The clinical champions are a mix of primary and secondary care workers witha specialism in diabetes. These include specialist nurses, GPs, consultants, pharmacists, dietitians and podiatrists.
Previous work carried out by the clinical champions includes the creation of an algorithm to ensure that patients have equal access to diabetes care no matter where they live, redesigning services in CCGs, and standardising the quality of diabetes care across the country.
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: ‘Clinicians are uniquely well placed to identify how diabetes services could be improved, but are too often left frustrated and unable to deliver this change. However, as clinical champions, they have the unique opportunity to draw on their expertise and take action to make a real difference to the lives of people living with diabetes.’