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New tech: Diabetes Book and Learn launch self-referral

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

Technology-led service gives thousands of south Londoners quicker access to free NHS diabetes education

Today, World Diabetes Day, the NHS in south London is launching a new service for people living with Type 2 diabetes to make it easier than ever to access vital support. An innovative new service from the NHS, Diabetes Book & Learn, will now allow people to self-refer for diabetes support courses rather than go through their GP. These courses will help them manage their condition better and significantly decrease their risk of serious complications (such as blindness and amputations). The service also increases choice for south Londoners, who will be able to access expert support through face-to-face courses or online programmes and book themselves onto their choice of course via the website or by phone.

There are over 165,000 people living with diabetes in South London (QOF 18-19).

Dr Jonty Heaversedge, NHS England, London’s Medical Director for Primary Care and Digital Transformation, said: “It’s great to see south London’s NHS, GPs, hospitals and innovators working together to bring access to practical healthcare into people’s lives using everyday technology. Diabetes Book & Learn is enabling people to not only live better, healthier lives but to stay ahead of their condition and reduce their risk of serious health complications. It couldn’t be easier to learn about how to manage your diabetes if you live in south London thanks to this service.”

Dr Neel Basudev, local south London GP and Diabetes Clinical Director of the Health Innovation Network, said: “We know lots of people who are living with Type 2 diabetes across south London either weren’t offered a place on a course when they were originally diagnosed, or for many reasons, couldn’t attend one of the limited courses that were available locally.

“We expect easy booking and online services in all other areas of our lives: we order food, arrange our home insurance, do our banking, you name it, through our smartphone. In south London, we are leading the way in making sure that people can access vital support for their diabetes just as easily – it’s just a few clicks or a phone call away.

“We have opened up support for people with Type 2 diabetes. Now you can book yourself onto any one of the courses available across all 12 south London boroughs or online. I’d encourage anyone living with Type 2 diabetes to book onto a course today and find out how to better manage their diabetes and avoid serious complications.”

Roz Rosenblatt, Head of London Region at Diabetes UK, said: “Thousands of people in the south London community can book on to a course which offers significant benefits. All it takes is a few clicks on the Book & Learn website or by phone and anyone living with Type 2 diabetes in this area can join a course that will improve their knowledge and confidence, plus help them take control of their diabetes and live well for longer.”

The aim of these specifically designed courses is for people living with Type 2 diabetes to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence, enabling them to take increasing control of their condition and integrate effective self-management into their daily lives. These courses help people to take control of their diabetes through learning more about their condition and they also provide valuable peer support.

The courses have been clinically proven to have a positive impact on individuals including:

  • Lowering average blood glucose levels, thereby reducing the risk of complications
  • Reducing cholesterol and blood pressure levels
  • Improving levels of physical activity
  • Improving understanding of diabetes and self-management skills
  • Weight reduction.

Despite these benefits, attendance across south London is low. The National Diabetes Audit data shows in 2017-18, 77.3 percent of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes were offered a place on a structured education course, but only 9.4 percent of those people attended.  There are many reasons for this major gap between those eligible and offered a place and those attendance including; limited choice in location and timing of courses being offered. Allowing people to self-refer via Diabetes Book & Learn means that people can book onto a course when and where suits them, including an option to complete a course entirely online.

Read more about this vital service at www.diabetesbooking.co.uk/about  and for more information please contact hin.southlondon@nhs.net.

 

Cutting-edge technology transforms diabetes care across south London

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

Cutting-edge technology transforms diabetes care across south London

L-R: Tara Donelly, Chief Digital Officer, NHSX; Oliver Brady, Head of Diabetes Transformation, South West London Health and Care Partnership; Karen Broughton, Director of Strategy and Transformation, South West London Health and Care Partnership; Vicky Parker, Programme Lead, London Diabetes Clinical Network and Ben McGough, Workstream Lead – Digital, NHS Diabetes Programme.

South London clinicians and partner organisations gathered together at Guy’s Hospital last night (30 October) to launch a brand-new diabetes service called You & Type 2.

After receiving over £500,000 funding from the NHS Test Bed programme, the You & Type 2 service is now being piloted across south London. The service combines innovative technology, improved access to services and a personalised approach.

The ambition of the project is help people living with Type 2 diabetes to have happier and healthier lives by enabling them to have more control over their care.

Designed to provide a range of further education, support and resources, You & Type 2 enables patients to work with their healthcare provider to produce a unique care plan. Part of the service is an app that will allow patients to access and update their care plan when it suits them and receive personalised videos containing recent test results, which will prepare them for informed discussions with clinicians.

Healthcare professionals using the service can update the app in real time, offering tailored support to patients. This means they are equipped to deliver the best patient-centred care, with the support of innovative technology that is linked to personal health data and individual goals.

Thirty-five GP surgeries across south London are now piloting the service, which is expected to be rolled out more widely in 2020. Clinicians who are already using the service have reported improved knowledge and skills, alongside greater job satisfaction and increased levels of team work. So far, over 1000 patients have already created their own care plans, working closely with their healthcare professionals to make something personal and meaningful to them.

A group shot of the partners involved in the You & Type 2 service

Speaking from the service launch event last night at Guys Hospital, local GP Dr Neel Basudev, Clinical Lead for You & Type 2, said: “This is such an exciting and different way to treat people living with type 2 diabetes. We know that being diagnosed and living with a long-term condition can feel overwhelming, but by using innovative technologies and working collaboratively with patients, this service helps them to overcome difficulties and improve their overall health and happiness.

“This is an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait to see how this develops and the impact it has on people’s lives, not only in my practice, but in practices across south London.”

Victoria Parker, Programme Lead for London Diabetes Clinical Network, NHS England, said: “This is such an innovative digital service and I’m happy to be here for the launch. The NHS long term plan speaks of personalisation and patient centred care.

“This service captures the essence of the long-term plan but also pushes it to a new level, offering better care and support for those with Type 2 diabetes as well as creating a model of care for any long term condition. I am excited to see where this project goes next and for the opportunities it presents for spread and adoption across London.”

For more information on the programme visit youandtype2.org

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Making it easier for employees with Type 2 diabetes to access diabetes education courses at work

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher
People in the workplace

Making it easier for employees with Type 2 diabetes to access diabetes education courses at work

In the second phase of the ‘Think Diabetes’ project, we have partnered with two London-based employers to promote diabetes structured education for employees diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Written by Don Shenker, Diabetes Senior Project Manager

Our Think Diabetes Summit held on 14 June encouraged employers to promote diabetes structured education to their workforce to support employees living with diabetes to be better informed about how to manage their condition. Our Think Diabetes report noted that less than 10% of individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes who are offered structured education from their GP actually go onto access the course. One of the reasons may well be a reluctance from employees to take time off work – or not having the flexibility to fit in education around work hours.

We have recently teamed up with Transport for London (TfL) and the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to pilot access to both remote/online courses and face-to-face on-site courses for employees diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This means any employee living with diabetes will be able to complete a course either remotely or during work time, without having to take time off. The courses will be promoted via LAS and TfL’s internal wellbeing newsletters and are being funded through the NHS Diabetes Transformation Fund.

There is good evidence that attending a structured diabetes course improves health and reduces complications by focusing on understanding diabetes, improving diet and stressing the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The pilot courses will be delivered by NHS approved providers OurPath, Oviva and Kingston NHS Foundation Trust.

In order to evaluate the pilot, we will be conducting a survey and focus group for course attendees and tracking anonymised BMI and weight data. It is hoped that around 100 employees will access a course either remotely or on-site. Key questions will focus on whether this approach via the workplace made it any easier to attend a course and what further steps employers could take to promote education for employees living with diabetes. We will also evaluate the level of demand for the courses and which category of workers have attended or asked for a course.

The pilot went live on 1 October and results will be available in March 2020.

For further information, contact Don Shenker, Diabetes Project Manager (don.shenker@nsh.net)

 

ITV’s Dr Zoe Williams Joins Alison Barnes for VLCD Event

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

ITV’s Dr Zoe Williams Joins Alison Barnes for VLCD Event

Last week the Health Innovation Network’s diabetes team hosted an event at St Thomas’s Hospital to speak to dieticians, GPs and other clinical professionals about the role of Very Low-Calorie Diets (VLCD) in putting Type 2 Diabetes in remission. 

The event brought together experts including; Dr Zoe Williams resident GP on ITV’s ‘This Morning’, Alison Barnes Research Dietitian for the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DIRECT) as well as Alastair Duncan, Principal Dietitian at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital. We heard some impactful stories from patients who trailed the diet. Some spoke candidly on the positive difference it has had made to their quality of life, as well as the difficulties they faced, especially during specific times of the year. 

Social and cultural events involving food were one of the difficulties discussed. Eid, Christmas and weddings were all flagged as being possible obstacles on these diets. Results showed that patients felt a sense of anxiety when it came to returning to their normal diets. Dr Rabbani, MD at Sutton GP Service Ltd also flagged that lifestyle changes can be incredibly hard, so simply changing your eating habits after a substantial time will not happen overnight. 

The event gave rise to the complexities many people have in their relationship with food. Although positive results were seen for the individuals who used VLCD diets speaking at the event, the message was clear that it is important to take into account the many barriers that exist for others.  

For more information on future events like this, sign-up to our newsletter today: http://bit.ly/HINSignUp  

Further information

To learn more about Allied Health Professional programmes in this area, visit the NHS England website.

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It’s time to put digital diabetes tools in the real world, with south London leading the way

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

It’s time to put digital diabetes tools in the real world, with south London leading the way

Laura Semple, Programme Director for Diabetes and Stroke Prevention, on person-centred care planning and digital in the real world.

When it comes to diabetes, we all know that the statistics are both enormous and increasing. In south London alone there are an estimated 230,000 people living with diabetes. Nationally, the NHS spends £14 billion a year treating people with diabetes. That’s an astonishing £1.5 million every hour. And, as many of us working in diabetes treatment and Type 2 diabetes prevention in south London know, the vast majority of this is not on preventative care that will reap future benefits. It is spent treating complications, many of which are preventable if people receive the right support during the early stages of the condition.

It’s against this backdrop that we set about working with our partners, led by the South West London Health and Care Partnership, earlier this year to bid to test a new model of support for people living with Type 2 diabetes. The full team includes South London NHS commissioners and clinicians, Healum, Citizen UK, Year of Care partnerships and Oviva. Just this week, we’ve found out that our innovative bid to co-design a new support system with patients, maximising the opportunities from digital to support behaviour change as we do, has been successful and will receive more than £500,000 of public funding over 18 months.

One option would have been to try and find a digital substitute for the current way of working, insert it into local care plans and call it self-management. But too often, substituting with digital tools ticks boxes without radically improving care, because the digital tool doesn’t work seamlessly within the wider system of care.

We believe digital health tools workbest when there is a partnership between the patient, their GP and where necessary a team of specialist clinicians or coaches supervising results, coaching and encouraging. When this mix is in place the results can be powerful – weight loss, healthy blood glucose levels, increased physical activity, improved self-care because people feel more empowered and self-confident. These are just some of our biggest goals. And of course all of these bring savings in the longer term to the NHS thanks to fewer complications.

For that reason, the new south London Test Bed focuses just as much on training and care planning with primary care professionals as it does on new digital solutions. Our intervention starts by working with the wonderful Year of Care Partnerships to train GP practices to use a truly collaborative approach to care and support planning with their patients. New, co-designed care plans will be available to patients via an app and accessible to professionals across all care settings.

At this point, when the training and planning has taken place, digital can shine. Following their appointment patients receive an innovative video that presents their personal health data in an intriguing animation, explaining their individual results and what these mean for them as an individual. Using the app, patients will then access a wide range of support and resources to help them reach their goals, including with the helping hand of a dietitian coach from Oviva.

This fully integrated approach, that works with EMIS, considers the needs of primary care professionals as well as the needs of patients, right from the off. It’s not using digital as a simple substitute but placing digital as part of a wider mix in real world clinical settings.

We hope that by testing this model we’ll break down existing barriers to ‘self-management’ and show the power of brilliantly supported self-management. At its core, our aim is simple – real, lasting improvements to the lives of people living with Type 2 diabetes in South London, so that they can live the lives they want to lead without their condition getting too much in the way.

Read more about the Test Bed programme here

More support and choice for south Londoners at risk of Type 2 diabetes

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

More support and choice for south Londoners at risk of Type 2 diabetes

A new collaboration will mean more choice and expert support for south Londoners at risk of Type 2 diabetes. The Health Innovation Network, NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK have confirmed a new contract with ICS Health & Wellbeing (ICS) to offer 4260 free places on Healthier You: the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme across south London.

Healthier You is a nine-month behaviour change programme that helps local patients at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes to significantly reduce their chances of getting the disease. Local doctors and nurses refer people to be part of this course so that they can receive support to change their lifestyle in a friendly and supportive group environment. The behaviour change programme runs for nine months and consists of a mixture of 1:1 and group sessions delivered by specially trained Health and Wellbeing coaches, advising individuals on how to prevent diabetes by incorporating healthier eating, physical activity, problem solving, stress reduction and coping skills into their daily lives.

Across south London it is estimated that approximately 275,000 are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Under the new contract, over 4000 people are expected to benefit and choice will be improved because they will be able to access courses in any part of London including evenings and weekends.

Neel Basudev, south London GP and Clinical Lead for south London Healthier You, said:

“I am delighted that ICS will be providing Healthier You in south London for local people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.   This will be an opportunity to make positive, lifestyle changes and take more control of their health and ultimately help prevent them developing what is a potentially life threatening condition.” 

Operations Manager for ICS, Megan Baird, said:

“We are now the only provider across London – this means more patient choice and flexibility to attend services across multiple locations and timings to suit individual needs. We are extremely passionate about the delivery of our service to support those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and look forward to implementing a successful programme across South London.”

ICS is the largest provider for the NHS National Diabetes Prevention Programme. With 19 delivery areas across the UK, ICS has a wealth of experience in delivering the nine month intervention effectively. Across the UK to date, ICS has received over 63,000 referrals, delivered over 30,000 face-to-face initial assessments and run over 1,200 courses. 95% our service users rate the service as Very Good or Good at 9 Months, 79% of service-users lose weight and 66% of service users accessing the service across London are from BAME groups.

Ten thousand people have already been referred to Healthier You under the previous provider, Reed Momenta.

Reducing diabetes is a priority for the NHS. It is estimated that the condition currently costs the NHS £8.8 billion every year. People wishing to be part of the programme should speak to their GP or Practice Nurse who can make a referral into the service if the person is eligible.