Advice, guidance and contact details
A Diabetes Specialist Nurse is available Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 4pm. They can provide advice and guidance and urgent appointments.
Telephone: 01249 456483 and leave a message. One of the team will get back to you.
Email:
Referrals: whc.diabetesreferrals@nhs.net
Advice and guidance: whc.diabetesnurses@nhs.net
For urgent support outside of these hours, please contact NHS 111
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Diabetes UK Coronavirus advice here
Certification of sick leave
The Community Diabetes Service is not able to offer advice about employment or to certify sick leave.
Referral forms
What does the service offer?
The service supports patients with complex diabetes management problems. Often this is by supporting or working with other clinicians so that they can manage the patient.
Where direct diabetes nurse support is required, this is increasingly offered to patients using Airmid, which enables the patient to receive a remote consultation via a smartphone or computer. Where this is not possible or appropriate, patients are offered either a telephone consultation or a face to face consultation in a number of locations.
If you are to have a consultation on Airmid, you will receive a letter or a text message from us with a link that you need to put into your smart phone or computer. Your nurse will see that you are waiting and start the consultation with you.
Patients are triaged and the most urgent patients being supported the same day. Most routine patients receive support within around six weeks.
Diabetes Structured Education
Learning about diabetes is the key way that someone can take control of their diabetes. These courses help patients understand how diabetes and different foods affect the body. The Community Diabetes Service offers courses for both Type 1 and Type 2 patients.
We recommend patients complete our digital education courses, as soon as possible. Limited face to face group sessions will also be available.
For Type 1 patients, we have 'My Type 1 Diabetes', and also on referral from your GP we can offer a face to face 'Freedom 4 Life' course.
My Type 1 Diabetes is a free NHS online diabetes education programme for adults with type 1 diabetes. There are six e-learning modules for adults with type 1 diabetes, to help increase understanding and confidence in self-management. These modules cover a range of topics useful for people who are newly diagnosed, or for those needing additional support with insulin management, lifestyle change and complications management. They also include topics like driving, employment, alcohol, sex and travel. There is a specific course for carbohydrate counting, a course for older teenagers and young adults, and courses for people either thinking about or starting insulin pump therapy.
My Type 1 diabetes is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to allow you to learn about your Type 1 diabetes at a time that suits you. Register online, choose and access a course, then once completed you will receive a certificate which you can give or show to your Diabetes Specialist Nurse or Dietitian at your next appointment.
For Type 2 patients, you can register online for 'The Healthy Living NHS' here and this can be done at a time that suits, you can also self-refer for our 'X-Pert' structured education, or if appropriate have a referral sent in from your GP. Please access on the email address below or call the freephone number.
To contact the Diabetes Structured Education Team telephone 01249 456530 or 0300 7900 567 or email whc.diabetesstructurededucation@nhs.net
Pens and Meters
We advise that people who take insulin for their diabetes have a spare insulin pen. If you do not have one, please discuss with your GP or at your next Diabetes Specialist Nurse or Consultant appointment. If you run out of insulin, contact your GP or pharmacist in the first instance, who should be able to provide a replacement on prescription.
If your meter stops working, please contact the company that made your meter. Their helpline should be able to advise or resolve the issue. Sometimes the issue is that the batteries have run out.