Educational diabetes programme for mental health teams trialled in Leicester
A pilot of a new diabetes training programme for staff working in a mental health setting has been successfully delivered by the Eden team.
James Ridgeway and Fiona Munday – who are both Diabetes Educators for Eden – staged an in-person training session at Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) on Wednesday, May 24, to provide “fundamental” diabetes education to healthcare professionals and support staff working in an inpatient mental health setting.
Healthcare professionals who attended the session increased their Knowledge and Confidence on all the diabetes topics covered during the programme by up to 40 per cent, as demonstrated by the pre and post evaluation forms.
The key areas that attendees improved their knowledge of the most during the programme were mental health, diabetes treatments, cardiovascular risk, lifestyle interventions and glucose monitoring.
Fiona said: “Staff in a mental health setting have the added challenge of managing this complex condition during extremely difficult circumstances.
“Admission to a mental health unit is a very stressful experience. Even in people with a healthy mind set, it can be difficult to summon the motivation to make good lifestyle choices, but to make things more difficult, often healthcare professionals are caring for people who, at present, have no desire to prolong their lives, are eating and sleeping erratically or not at all, and are extremely sedentary.”
She added: “Therefore, diabetes education which is bespoke and tailored for healthcare professionals in this environment is fundamental.”
According to prior research, diabetes is common in people with psychiatric disorders. Individuals with mental health conditions are also more likely to live an unhealthy lifestyle – increasing their risk of developing metabolic and heart disease, previous studies have reported.
This one-day Eden programme is tailored for all in the multidisciplinary team, and doctors, physician associates, nurses, and health care assistants shared their positive feedback after the session.
It brings together different members of the workforce to learn and apply knowledge together while looking at situations from a variety of perspectives.
Using the popular interactive Eden style, the team ensured provision of time for the discussion of more difficult and complex live cases.
James noted: “We aim for our education to be relevant and help achieve healthier, safer outcomes for people with diabetes.”
The day consisted of education in:
· Diagnosing diabetes, how to explain diabetes simply
· Reducing risk of complications and using the five S’s of Sitting, Stepping, Sweating, Strengthening and Sleep
· Motivating people when the time is right and ways to encourage physical activity
· Diabetes and mental health, the bi-directional relationship
· Medications: choosing medications that aid weight loss and reduce hypo risk
· The importance of CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk assessment, BP, and lipid management
· Stabilising blood glucose levels in difficult circumstances, keeping people safe
· Continuous blood glucose monitoring
· Managing hyper and hypoglycaemia.
A lead nurse, who attended the training session, said: “We found the day really useful, and it has built on our knowledge around supporting patients and families.
“The day allowed us to think about how we can use the information to support our patients and staff within acute inpatient mental health.”
They added: “It has given us great ideas to add to the Physical Health and Wellbeing pathway being developed.”
With rapidly changing guidelines and therapies, the Eden team is calling all healthcare professionals to be involved with diabetes care and management, particularly those working in mental health.
Eden is a multi-award-winning team that delivers education programmes, developed by the NHS for healthcare professionals.
With a sustained and successful record of accomplishment in Leicester and beyond, Eden provides organisations with the opportunity to transform the diabetes care it offers by enhancing the skill levels of staff involved in diabetes treatment.
For more information about Eden, visit https://www.edendiabetes.com.