Posted on: 16 June 2021
More than 4.9 million people in the UK have diabetes, and Diabetes Week aims to raise awareness of the condition and what changes people can make in order to reduce their risk. This year the theme is #DiabetesStories and the microphone is being handed over to… our Hillingdon Community Diabetes Service!
The pandemic has seen the team pull together for more virtual working, train HCAs to administer insulin, work collaboratively with district nursing teams to manage patients in their home, set up a Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) phoneline for health care professionals as well as manage the increase in referrals and complexity of patients into the service.
Here, the team are sharing their stories of working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to support people living with diabetes across Hillingdon:
Bal Sandhu, Team Lead
“It’s been a challenging 18 months for our team. We have had many changes in staff and working practices, with the pandemic applying a huge pressure on our service. The referrals have increased and we had team members redeployed to assist in frontline nursing. The team have been amazing in adapting new ways of working, ensuring our service users continue to receive good care. We set up a single point of contact service for health care professionals across Hillingdon to be able to access a diabetes clinician. I am immensely proud to be heading this team and I am looking forward to developing our work further across Hillingdon.”
Erika Ayling, Deputy Team Lead and Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“The last year has been challenging but with a flexible approach our team has been able to maintain excellent patient care and service delivery. We have adapted to offer a mix of virtual and face-to-face clinics, dependant on individual needs. I am honoured to be a member of the community diabetes team and proud to say we have risen to the challenges the pandemic has given us.”
Suki Bangar, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“I have been with the Hillingdon Community Diabetes for over seven years. There have been many challenges through this unprecedented time but we have managed and maintained patient safety, delivering care at its best. Adopting new ways of working with virtual platforms and phone consultations has been both challenging and exciting. Covid-19 is here to stay for the foreseeable future and we will be integrating these new communication platforms into our daily work alongside continued face-to-face consultations.”
Pat Karki, Diabetes Support Nurse
“I joined the team in early 2020 and I was redeployed to district nursing where I helped as a frontline worker. We were committed and hardworking in order to support and assist the community team during this difficult time. From day one I thoroughly enjoyed working within the diabetes speciality and I have never looked back. I’m thrilled to be the part of this team.”
Faye Rusk, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“I have always had an interested in diabetes – it is a very wide subject with many complexities. I joined the Community Diabetes Team in August after many years as a Practice Nurse because I wanted to specialise. The role is varied as each person has very different needs and the treatments are developing all the time. My learning curve has been steep but I am really enjoying my role and have the support of a fantastic team.”
Veronica Green, Diabetes Clinical Expert
“I returned post-retirement in a part-time role. I have over 30 years’ experience in diabetes across many different locations. In my current role, my first job is to catch up with patients who were unable to be seen due to Covid-19 as well as the more complex of our patients. After that, I will be increasing the teaching within the team and providing clinical supervision.”
Kasthuri Ethayathas, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“Due to Covid-19 I volunteered to help district nurses and then joined the diabetes team at the end of 2020. As a new diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) I am working towards developing my skills in diabetes. The team is fantastic to work with, offering lots of support and I am enjoying every day.”
Mengs Berhane, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“I joined the Hillingdon Community Diabetes Service recently and I have received a world class welcome from the team. I have been in diabetes service in different hospital and community settings for many years. Covid-19 has made things different and applied pressures and challenges to NHS staff, however, it allowed us to adapt and find new ways of working to support our patients during the pandemic and when they needed us the most. I am proud and happy to be a member of this team and am looking forward to developing our diabetes service across Hillingdon.”
Charelle May, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
“Working in the community as a diabetes nurse comes with many challenges especially during the Covid pandemic. However, as a team we have managed to continue to provide the best care possible for our patients.”
Dr Patricia Hurton, GP with Diabetes Specialist Interest
“I joined the Community Diabetes Team one day a week when it was set up in 2003. I have also worked as a local GP in Hayes for over 20 years. I strongly believe in high quality diabetes education so that patients receive the right information at the right time to help them best manage their diabetes and minimize the impact of this disease on their lives.”
Agnes Thompson, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
"The past year has certainly been a rollercoaster of an experience. Redeployment to the district nursing service initially brought its own anxieties as I had never done this before but the team was really supportive and I left with new experiences, old skills renewed (wound dressing anyone?) and better working relationships. Having been in the community diabetes team for many years I have certainly seen many changes but this past year the changes have been phenomenal. It’s painful when much loved colleagues leave, but am always grateful for fresh ideas, new ways of working and forming new friendships. I feel privileged to be able to support our patients in managing their diabetes through these unprecedented times."
Debbie Hackett, Diabetes Specialist Dietitian
"I work as a Diabetes Dietitian helping to support patients with their diet for either diabetes, raised lipids or to lose weight. Since Covid this has either been virtually or via phone consultations - answering patient's dietary questions and helping them to overcome the food myths they may believe in."
More information about the team can be found here.