Guidance for healthcare professionals
In 2010, more than 3 million adults in England had diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed). Disease of the foot remains a major threat to people with diabetes and is estimated to account for 20 per cent of the total cost of diabetes care in UK. There are 70 amputations a week, of which 80 per cent are potentially preventable. Despite this, in 2007/8 nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of people did not have a foot check.
Managing and preventing diabetic foot disease in hospital
In 2009 Diabetes UK worked with partners to produce guidance for commissioning specialist services for the management and prevention of diabetic foot disease in hospital (PDF, 200KB). This guidance is designed to enable proper management of acute onset, or deteriorating, disease of the diabetic foot, and to prevent amputation.
National Minimum Skills Framework
A new National Minimum Skills Framework (PDF, 331KB) for the commissioning of footcare services for people with diabetes has been developed.
This skills framework aims to help local service providers to deliver high quality footcare services for people with diabetes. The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, Diabetes UK, Foot in Diabetes UK, NHS Diabetes, The Primary Care Diabetes and Society and The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists have worked in partnership to deliver this document.
Standards for the delivery of high quality footcare have already been defined by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in 2004. In addition, in March 2011 NICE published the Management of diabetic foot problems – inpatient management. For such clinical standards to be achieved they must be delivered by appropriately skilled healthcare professionals.
Footcare pathway for people with diabetes
Putting Feet First: Commissioning a care pathway for footcare services for people with diabetes (PDF, 772KB) further builds on the Putting Feet First documents of 2009 and 2011. The information is for commissioners and those responsible for planning healthcare.
Commissioning a care pathway was supported by:
