Reviewing hospital patients retrospectively following hypoglycaemia prevents further episodes

Abstract

© 2020 SB Communications Group. All rights reserved. In 2016, NHS England announced the opportunity for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to acquire additional funds to transform diabetes services. Within Somerset CCG, diabetes specialist nurses (DSNs) were recruited with the goal of improving outcomes for inpatients with diabetes. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate whether next-day follow-up of all inpatients who had an episode of hypoglycaemia, as determined by the hospital connective blood glucose meter, could support inpatients’ glycaemic control. Overall, this project was successful as it showed that 50% of inpatients who were reviewed retrospectively following a hypoglycaemic episode required no further diabetes medication changes. It also suggests that the use of connective blood glucose meters is important for clinical practice, as they support DSNs to review appropriate patients in a timely manner, helping to prevent further episodes of hypoglycaemia.