Support for people with diabetes receives a "vital boost" from a premier annual conference

premier annual conference 

The newest best practise for improving frontline NHS services was presented at Diabetes Professional Care, which was attended by a record number of healthcare professionals.

The 16th and 17th of November saw the return of Diabetes Professional Care to Olympia London, the largest annual conference in the UK for healthcare professionals working in diabetes.

The diabetes leads from around the UK were joined by a diverse range of healthcare professionals, including Diabetes Specialist Nurses, practise nurses, general practitioners, consultants, podiatrists, and dietitians.

This CPD-accredited education session also attracted representatives from the Primary Care Diabetes Society, the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, Trend Diabetes, the DSN Forum, and the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care.

Diabetes and endocrinology consultant and Joint British Diabetes Societies Inpatient Care Group chair Professor Ketan Dhatariya spoke at the conference, and he said, "DPC has once again proved invaluable in providing vital education, sharing best practise, and spreading knowledge to healthcare professionals delivering diabetes care." We've seen nothing but growth and success from this show.

Professor Alan Sinclair, who is also a speaker, is the Director of the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People (FDROP) and he remarked that this was a crucial forum for communicating with diabetes care providers. DPC is outstanding at presenting high-quality and practical knowledge which teams can take away and implement.”

As Diabetes Professional Care's Content Lead Agnes Jacobs put it, "It was a delight to host DPC once again and offer the NHS with such an important boost to diabetes care. We designed a comprehensive schedule full of informative talks and discussions about cutting-edge methods and discoveries in diabetes treatment.

At NHS Park, Professors Partha Kar and Jonathan Valabhji updated the public on the status of the NHS Diabetes Programme. As President of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society, Dr. Jim Moore discussed the most recent research about SGLT2 inhibition in patients with heart failure, and Professor Roy Taylor discussed remission of type 2 diabetes.

Professor Pratik Choudhary spoke on incorporating CGM into primary care, while Nurse Consultant Debbie Hicks, Co-chair of Trend Diabetes and Chair of Injection Technique Matters Initiative, presented on proper injection technique.

On day two, Dr. Lalantha Leelarathna talked about the current data supporting the use of flash glucose monitoring in patients with diabetes, and Professor Alan Sinclair talked about how to put the 2022 National Advisory Panel for Care Home (NAPCHD) Diabetes recommendations into practise.

Other participants were Ines Fonseca, a pharmacist specialising in diabetes and endocrinology, Dr. Kevin Fernando, and Professor David Strain. Diabetes hyperglycemic situations were discussed by June James, Co-founder and Co-chair of Trend Diabetes, and an update on the JBDS recommendations was presented by Professor Ketan Dhatariya.

"It was nicely organised, I appreciate the way you can dip in and out, much more flexible having a rolling programme," said delegate Sonia Galang, a nurse at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Sometimes, other programmes just have to take the lead.

Evette Row, a podiatrist from Homerton Healthcare, agreed, saying, "It was simpler to get there, better organised, and there was a lot going on." When I first started watching, I thought it was only going to be about feet, but now I realise how much I can learn about the human body from it.

Reena Patel, a Diabetes Nurse Specialist, from Spinney Hill Medical Centre, said: “It was really good to have this enormous expo with all the resources.”

According to Oliver Jelley, editor of The Diabetes Times, "DPC is firmly at the forefront of diabetic teaching diabetes care in the UK, with the conference offering a platform for free education for the NHS."

The date of Diabetes Professional Care 2023 is set for November 15 and 16. Check out https://diabetesprofessionalcare.com/2023 to sign up.