Diabetic 8 Care Team

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Diabetic 8 care team logo Our new '8 Care Diabetic Services' have been developed to support primary care to manage patients with diabetes and help reduce waiting lists following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our team will carry out the '8 Care Process' on behalf of the GP Practice and target patients whose checks are due or overdue.

The service is currently in an 18-month pilot, using COVID-19 recovery funding, and seeks to:

implement an effective, integrated pathway (8 Care Processes and eye screening) for diabetic patients across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
ensure that patients are identified through working with primary care and commissioners, and are screened promptly
increase the numbers of patients with diabetes (type one and two) accessing routine care processes whilst integrating this with eye screening where possible
avoid diabetes related deterioration or complications
ensure people are supported to meet their treatment targets
ensure we have a workforce that is skilled to deliver the integrated model
put the patient at the heart of the delivery model
the service is also geared towards addressing health inequalities and ensuring those individuals with diabetes who don't readily access healthcare services can undergo these checks
wherever possible, the service is looking to align the 8 Care Processes and Diabetic Eye Screenings

Why should I attend an annual review?

Whether you have been diagnosed for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, a review which covers the 8 processes of care should be completed every year. For people living with diabetes, these checks can identify any health issues promptly and can help to avoid diabetes related complications.

Our '8 Care Diabetic Services' team can carry out your annual review and send your results to your GP Practice.

What are the 8 Care process checks?

The service offered to patients includes the following 8 care process checks:

HbA1c (Blood Tests)
Blood Pressure
Cholesterol Level
Kidney Function
Urine Albumin
Foot Surveillance
BMI (Height and Weight)
Smoking Status

In addition, we offer advice and guidance including:

administering of medication
needles
check injection sites, where required, for issues or areas of concern
highlight potential risks to feet and discuss options for further referral

We can also signpost you to other services who can also support you with:

weight management
issues with foot ulcers, highlighting potential risk and options for further referral to podiatry where required
services which can help you stop smoking
advice on diet and exercise

Reporting of results and outcomes

Patient data Information is shared appropriately, and in line with, information governance requirements.

The 8 Care Process is an assessment-only service, and all results will be passed to the patient's GP Practice for follow up, further treatment, or referral.

We currently use a clinical system known as RiO to document patient results, and these are emailed to your GP Practice following the appointment.

Blood samples are sent directly to your local hospital for testing, and the Pathology Department will send the results directly to your GP Practice. Your GP Practice can then report any concerns to you and advise on further treatments if required.

In the future, we want to work with each GP Practice to enable the 8 Care Team to input all patient results directly into GP computer systems (usually EMIS), using the appropriate template, so information on patients is readily available and further action can be highlighted efficiently.

Referrals

GP Referral

The service welcomes referrals from GP surgeries and Primary Care colleagues which can be sent via email or telephone.

Patient Referral

Patients are welcome to self-refer themselves if they wish to have their checks completed and can contact us via telephone or email as outlined in the Contact Us section below.

Combined Appointments

In certain areas, we can also perform these 8 Care checks on patients who are already attending a Diabetic Eye Screening appointment so all checks are carried out on the same day. Please enquire for location details.

Locations

We currently have a permanent clinic in Bentilee Neighbourhood Centre, Stoke-on-Trent which can be accessed Monday to Friday.

Further clinics are being planned in other locations across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, as well as pop-up clinics in a variety of settings where patients will be able to drop-in and have their check completed on the same day.

More information will be available soon. Please check back for further information and location details.

Meet the 8 care diabetic services team

8care team We have a dedicated clinical team which includes a Senior Lead Nurse (Thandiwe Mpofu), as well as two Health Care Assistants (Leanne Wildig and Kayleigh Hodgkinson) who all carry out the 8 Care Process checks in clinic settings.

We have a dedicated Operational Lead (Kellee Sewell) who is responsible for the overall management of the service and ensures we offer quality and high standards throughout.

We also have a dedicated administrator who can help with booking appointments and advise on clinic locations.

Feedback

You can provide any feedback about the service you have received from our Diabetic 8Care team. All feedback will be read and will go towards shaping the future of this service.