The National Advisory Panel on Care Home Guidance (NAPCHD)) has launched its first set of care home guidelines for residents living with diabetes.
The panel, dedicated to improving care for older adults with the condition, has created the comprehensive guidance to improve the well-being, quality of life, and clinical outcomes of all residents with diabetes.
The NAPCHD, chaired by Professor Alan Sinclair of the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People (fDROP), was formed in mid-2020 to bring about a culture change in the way residents with diabetes are cared for.
Professor Sinclair said of the guidelines: “It has been a personal pleasure chairing this group of highly committed individuals. We hope that many if not all of our recommendations will be seen as excellent opportunities to highlight ongoing concerns in this sector and that once funded, actioned, and deployed, will bring about positive changes that improve the lives of all those care home residents with diabetes living in the United Kingdom.”
Nadra Ahmed OBE DL, executive chairman of the National Care Association, said: “This piece of work has looked carefully at how our teams in care homes can be clinically supported but alongside that consider other perspectives relating to health and social integration which will ensure that those living with the condition can benefit from a model which looks at the whole, not just part of the impact of diabetes on them.
“There has been a multi-agency engagement which ensures that the findings can be easily transferable which makes the outcomes more deliverable. As the social care sector evolves into caring for individuals with complex health care needs, originally the role of our clinical colleagues, this will go a long way to creating support and advice, which can be disseminating to our workforce, in a way that will up-skill them and develop their confidence in recognising not only the numerous signs but also consider the options to work with the clinical teams in the best interest of those we care for. The impact of this work could enhance diabetes care in residential settings.
“The recommendations are now available for all care homes across the country. The document reflects on the importance of sound and effective communication channels between residents and families, care homes, community nursing and diabetes services, primary care, acute hospital services, eye specialist and optometry care services, nutritional and podiatry services, and the social serviced sector.”
The new guidelines are available for download at http://fdrop.net/
