Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust: hospital admissions award runner-up

An initiative by the diabetes inpatient team has cut hypoglycaemic episode admissions by nearly 20%. Photograph: Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust

A hospital has seen a 33% drop in the number of diabetes patients calling 999 or turning up at A&E following a hypoglycaemic episode, while admissions fell by nearly 20% following an initiative that helps patients manage their care better and educates GPs about best practice.

The diabetes inpatient team at Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust wanted to tackle the recurring number of diabetes patients being admitted to hospital following a hypoglycaemic event.

It decided that a diabetes consultant and specialist nurse would visit every GP practice in the district twice a year to discuss diabetes management and spread best practice. Educational events were also held at local nursing and residential homes to help improve diabetes management.

A new telephone hotline was set up with South Central Ambulance Service for paramedics to call the hospital inpatient team if they had treated a hypoglycaemic patient. That patient would then be contacted by the team within 24 hours.

Any diabetic patient admitted to hospital following a hypoglycaemic event was given advice about managing their care to prevent another attack.

After the project was launched, the number of hypoglycaemic people arriving at A&E or being seen by a paramedic between November 2011 and November 2012 was 83 – a drop of 33% compared to the previous 12 months. During the same period the number of hospital admissions fell by nearly 20% from 85 to 63.

Dr Partha Kar, the trust's diabetes clinical director, says: "As far as we are aware our pathway is the first to show discernible benefits of hypoglycaemic admissions thereby showcasing how a simple innovative approach can help patient care. The pathway can achieve little unless dovetailed with educational support for primary care which has formed the crux of the local model of diabetes care."

The initiative is part of the trust's Super Six Diabetes model of care designed to move more care away from hospital into the community.

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