Our new continuing professional development course for healthcare professionals aims to give them the confidence to talk about mental health, to gain knowledge about appropriate signposting and to make emotional support an integrated part of the care people with diabetes receive.
Having the proper support from healthcare professionals to manage the emotional aspects, as well as the physical ones, of living with diabetes is so important.
Living with diabetes is challenging, and there are lots of factors that can take a toll on your emotional well-being. It’s not just a physical condition.
With the pandemic bringing its own challenges too, being able to talk about how you’re feeling with healthcare professionals and having the support to look out for your mental wellbeing is so important.
Two years ago, we launched a campaign to call on health services in the UK to create national standards for diabetes emotional and mental health support, after 7 out of 10 people with diabetes told us they feel overwhelmed by the demands of living with their condition. 75% of these weren’t getting the mental health support they need.
As part of our commitment to make sure basic emotional support services are available to people living with diabetes, and to try to make sure they’re of a high standard, we’re proud to launch our free Emotional Wellbeing online training module.
The module is appropriate for all healthcare professionals, although is particularly suited to those working in non-specialist primary care roles.
The course will help professionals to:
- Learn through watching real-life situations
- Hear top professionals share their knowledge
- Feel more confident to lead conversations about mental health
- Feel knowledgeable to refer people to appropriate services where necessary
- Look after their own well-being.
Nikki Milne, a Community Diabetes Specialist Nurse, who was involved in the development of the training, said:
“Now more than ever, we as healthcare professionals need to be confident to engage with those in our care about the emotional and psychological issues that go hand in hand with diabetes. This module will help those in primary healthcare understand how best to help people with diabetes deal with the emotional toll of living with the condition, and help them access the additional services and help they may need to live well with diabetes.”
The course has been tested and approved by people living with diabetes and we’d encourage any healthcare professional who has 90 minutes to spare (you can even do it from a mobile, or a tablet on the go!) – to take our free online course.
Or, share the course with your colleagues who would benefit from strengthening their skills and download our free poster to put up in your workplace.
This Diabetes UK CPD – Emotional Wellbeing module for Healthcare Professionals has been developed by Diabetes UK, kindly supported by a Consortium of grants from our partners; Eli Lilly, Abbott and Boehringer Ingelheim. These partners have not developed or provided any input into this content.
