Introduction
The Integrated Care Task and Finish Group was set up in late 2008 because of concerns expressed by people with diabetes and health care professionals about the lack of integration between primary and secondary care. However, it rapidly realised that as soon as the person with diabetes was made central, integration became more important but involved many more agencies, such as social care and education. Commissioners, people with diabetes and healthcare workers should use this document to identify gaps in integration and seek to resolve them. With the exception of some of the IT solutions, most are cheap, but even for IT, local solutions work, will improve quality, and are affordable.
Summary
Diabetes UK and individual people with diabetes should stimulate improved integration of their care by asking to see if there are:
- Locally agreed guidelines and protocols for managing people with diabetes, IT systems included as part of the integration process
- Ongoing education and development and training for all professionals involved in caring for people with diabetes
- Education for all people with diabetes, in a range of formats to suit their needs
- Enhanced communication with people with diabetes and their carers.