National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) – Improving Diabetes Care in NHS Mental Health Inpatient Services

Individuals living with a serious mental illness, die 15-20 years earlier than the general population, due to a greater risk of poor physical health.* This project focused on the care that people with serious mental illness receive for their diabetes whilst an inpatient in a Mental Health NHS Trust.

*Severe mental illness (SMI) and physical health inequalities: briefing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk

Following a test pilot in Southern Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (2017) and SLaM, the London Physical Health Leads Network created an audit to assess diabetes inpatient care across all London NHS Mental Health Trusts. 

The results of this audit have now been published.

NaDIA is conducted once a year in acute inpatient settings to improve the quality of diabetes care by enabling participating NHS services and organisations to assess their local practice, identify and share best practice, recognise improvements and share their outcomes to build a national picture of diabetes care across England and Wales.

Despite the prevalence of diabetes amongst individuals living with a long-term mental illness, the audit is not currently conducted in mental health inpatient settings.

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) is part of the London Physical Health Leads Network, along with UCLPartners and Kings Health Partners Mind and Body Programme. The HIN and SLaM shared the piloted NaDIA for mental health settings with this network for pan-London mental health trusts to utilise.