The Diabetes Team at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust celebrated winning at this year’s Quality in Care Diabetes Awards, just in time for World Diabetes Day on Friday 14 November. The prestigious awards celebrate innovative care approaches which help improve the lives of people living with Diabetes in the UK.
Staff behind the Diabetes Education Programme at Ormskirk Hospital were given glowing feedback as they were recognised for the pioneering initiative, which provides age-appropriate support to children and young people with type 1 diabetes, in school or a bespoke setting.
The programme supports children from as young as 6, often in a group so that they can meet with other people who have similar experiences.
Oscar aged 9 and Jacob aged 10 are just two of the young patients benefiting from the education programme. Oscar said, “I like education with Jacob because it makes me feel less lonely.” Jacob added, “I like education in school so I can teach my friends about diabetes, I also like to help people.
Oscar and Jacob taking part in the education programme
The diabetes team continue to develop this programme even further and have delivered a number of whole school awareness sessions which helps both teachers and students to understand the lived experiences of their classmates.
Judges described the programme as “a powerful, patient-driven initiative” that builds a supportive community and helps families manage diabetes with confidence. They commended it as a ‘true collaboration’ in direct response to service user feedback.
The Diabetes Team at Ormskirk Hospital with their award
Sarah O’Brien, Chief Nurse said: “Having worked as a diabetes nurse for many years, I know just how challenging it can be to navigate the condition and it’s essential for people living with diabetes to have access to effective education.
The work the team are doing to educate younger people will really help them to grow and understand how to manage their condition in the best possible way so that they can stay well and still have a happy and healthy childhood.’