Diabetes Northamptonshire

The countywide Diabetes Northamptonshire multidisciplinary team promotes self-management to avoid acute and long-term complications of diabetes through 1-1 and group education contacts with individuals who have diabetes. We also offer telephone and email support for people with diabetes and their carers.

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Adult Services - Diabetes MDT

The different types of diabetes care is delivered by hospitals, general practice and the countywide Multidisciplinary Diabetes Team working together to ensure a full and comprehensive range of services are available to our Northamptonshire county.

Our Multidisciplinary Diabetes Team (MDT) promotes positive self-management of a person's diabetes to help prevent admission to acute services and minimise long term complications of diabetes. This is done through a personal clinic appointments, group based education courses for those living with diabetes and those who are for them, as well as appointments and telephone access support.

Our appointments can be had face to face or virtually, and our telephone access support not only helps people with diabetes but also their carers and other healthcare professionals. 

The Northamptonshire MDT offers their complex skill set to benefit our population and working together with many teams from across the county we aim to ensure that diabetes care makes a difference for people, with people.

Who is this service for? Adults with diabetes and those who provide care for them. 

Please note: We aim to ensure that our services are accessible, please speak to us before you appointment so we can adapt our practice to best suit you. 

Information on Diabetes courses

Newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

Newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

DESMOND is a group course for up to 10 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the last nine months).

The course is delivered face-to-face or via video conferencing and covers:

  • Understanding diabetes and glucose: what happens in the body
  • Understanding more about monitoring and medication
  • Understanding the risk factors and complications associated with diabetes
  • How to take control – Food Choices – Physical Activity
  • Planning for future

All courses are under the supervision of healthcare professionals and diabetes educators.

MyDESMOND is an interactive digital platform for people with type 2 diabetes designed to support and educate through videos, activities, and quizzes, offers opportunities for people with type 2 diabetes to speak with others from across the UK and Ireland to share ideas and gain peer support. Translated languages include Bengali and Hindi


Desmond Group programme - Ardens update [pdf] 5MB

DESMOND Logo for Diabetes MDT page

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Group Education for People with Type 2 Diabetes

Group Education for People with Type 2 Diabetes

This group education course has been developed with the aim of increasing knowledge and confidence in self-managing Type 2 Diabetes. The course takes an interactive approach and enables participants to create a personal self-management plan.

Session 1: Diabetes and Carbohydrate Awareness

Topics covered in this session include:

  • What is diabetes?
  • Diabetes medication
  • Monitoring, targets, and hypoglycaemia
  • Healthy eating with diabetes
  • The 4 steps to carbohydrate awareness

Type 2 Diabetes Virtual Education Course [pdf] 40KB

Session 2: Living Well and Eating Well with Diabetes

Topics covered in this session include:

  • Eating well with diabetes (including meal plans)
  • Healthy weight
  • Reducing the risk of long-term effects
  • Physical activity
  • Emotional eating

Session 3: Managing your Diabetes with Insulin (only for those taking insulin as a diabetes treatment

Topics covered in this session include:

  • Insulin injection technique
  • Insulin profiles
  • Adjusting insulin doses safely
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Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes

DAFNE stands for Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating. It aims to help adults with type 1 diabetes lead as normal life as possible, whilst also maintaining blood glucose levels within healthy targets to reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications.

There are different ways in which you can complete a DAFNE course, either on a face-to-face DAFNE course or a Remote DAFNE course.

On a face-to-face course, you will attend a 5-day training course (either Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, or one day per week for 5 weeks), with follow-up sessions after the course.

Remote DAFNE courses are an option for people who feel that a face-to-face course is not for them.   The Remote DAFNE course will take 5 weeks to complete. It includes online learning from home each week and weekly group video support calls with other participants as well as follow up sessions after the course.

All courses are under the supervision of DAFNE-trained educators (who are specially trained NHS diabetes specialist nurses and dietitians).

DAFNE dose adjustment for normal eating[pdf] 5MB

DAFNE logo for Diabetes MDT page

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Learning Difficulties: Looking After Me and My Diabetes

Looking After Me and My Diabetes

This course can support adults with learning disabilities to improve their understanding of diabetes. The adult with a learning disability and their carer/ partner/advocate are encouraged to attend together. The course provides self-management education including:

  • learn how to make healthier food choices
  • learn more about keeping fit
  • learn about medication
  • learn more about health checks for your diabetes
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Virtual Carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment course

Virtual Carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment course

The Virtual Carbohydrate Counting course (incorporating the accredited Roche Carbohydrate Counting course) is a 2-session introduction to carbohydrate counting. It introduces the skills and methods required to support people with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes (if taking both background insulin and quick acting insulin with food) to learn to carbohydrate count accurately.

The Virtual Insulin Dose Adjustment course is a further 2 sessions which covers the principles of adjusting your insulin in different situations.

Diabetes Virtual Carb Counting Education A4 Poster - 4 sessions [pdf] 39KB

 

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Additional information around diabetes

Information on eyes and feet

Information on eyes and feet

Information on Eyes

The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme provides annual screening to detect diabetic retinopathy for the cohort of diabetic patients aged 12 and above within Northamptonshire.  Specialist trained graders view images captured within clinic and the service operates a fast track referral system for patients with sight-threatening retinopathy for treatment within the two local acute hospitals.  In addition the service also reports any other eye conditions to the Hospital Eye Services at Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital.

The Service has 4 fixed sites across the county and within the community our team carry out retinal eye screening checks to establish if they have diabetic retinopathy (damage to the retina of the eye), referring people for treatment where appropriate.

Our team is led by a specialist doctor in ophthalmology and consists of qualified and experienced screeners and grader staff, as well as healthcare. We work closely with hospital eye services in Northamptonshire to ensure that diabetic patients with retinopathy are managed promptly.

Diabetic eye screening: information leaflets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Information on Feet 

The Diabetic and High Risk Foot Service is a team of highly skilled podiatrists who work closely with specialists in rheumatology, diabetes and vascular surgery.

We provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment for predominantly high risk and diabetic patients who meet the criteria for our service and other high risk foot pathologies who are vulnerable, as well as for children and young people under 18 years of age. We offer advice on ways that people can manage their own foot care, choose footwear and direction to other providers.

Click here to find out more about The Diabetic and High Risk Foot Service

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Talking Therapies mental wellbeing support

Talking Therapies mental wellbeing support

NHS Northamptonshire Talking Therapies Health is a talking therapies service for people living with a long-term condition such as diabetes, respiratory difficulties (e.g., COPD), cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). 

We offer psychological interventions such as guided self-help and cognitive behavioural therapy to help you reach your goals. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps to manage problems by changing thoughts and behaviour.

We offer face to face or telephone support with a psychological practitioner who has a knowledge and understanding of the challenges experienced by people living with diabetes.

Talking Therapies Health (for long term conditions) leaflet[pdf] 890KB

 

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Paediatrics and Diabetes

Paediatrics and Diabetes

This service is for managing children and adolescents (young people) with diabetes whose care is different from those for adults. Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes become more aggressive in identifying goals and negotiating plans with families to meet standards and target HbAC1 levels. Treatment plans are sometimes successful, but often they fall short because of multiple factors. These challenges require deeper exploration to identify sources of barriers to treatment and more effective strategies for motivation and behaviour change.

Factors that contribute to paediatric challenges include normal growth and development, psychological characteristics, health status, family dynamics (including socioeconomic status and cultural considerations), and care outside of the home, such as in the school setting. These components increase the intricacy of caring for paediatric patients in general, and the addition of a chronic condition often further increases the complexity.

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Preconception and Pregnancy with diabetes

Preconception and Pregnancy with diabetes

Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar (glucose) that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth.

It can happen at any stage of pregnancy, but is more common in the second or third trimester.

It happens when your body cannot produce enough insulin - a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels - to meet your extra needs in pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy and after birth. But the risks can be reduced if the condition is detected early and well managed.

You can download an information leaflet about gestational diabetes by clicking on the links:

Pregnancy with gestational diabetes information leaflet[pdf] 442KB

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Community healthcare services (adults)

  1. Admiral Nursing Service
  2. Adult Community Hospital Inpatient Beds
  3. Adults Speech & Language Therapy Services
  4. Community Brain Injury
  5. Continence Service
  6. Sexual health services
  7. Community Nursing
  8. Community Therapy Service
  9. Diabetic Eye Screening Programme
  10. Diabetes and High Risk Foot Service
  11. Diabetes Northamptonshire
  12. Dietetics and Nutrition
  13. MSK Occupational Therapy Hand Therapy
  14. Physiotherapy (MSK & APPs)
  15. Podiatric Surgery
  16. Specialist Dental Services - Adult
  17. Post-COVID-19 and Post-Viral Rehabilitation Service
  18. Specialist Nursing - Heart Failure Nurse
  19. Specialist Nursing - Multiple Sclerosis
  20. Specialist Nursing - Tissue Viability
  21. Specialist Nursing - Parkinson’s Disease
  22. Specialist Palliative Care
  23. TB Nursing Service
  24. Unplanned Intermediate Care Team (ICT)