21 March 2018
This year we hosted one of out largest ever Diabetes UK Professional Conference. Here are some of the highlights from the three days.
Day 1
- Chief executive of NHS England Simon Stevens confirmed that £40m will be available for the second year of transformation funding to drive improvements in diabetes care.
- The results from the 2017 National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) were announced.
- Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes launched.
- A common theme for the day was the need for a personalised approach to treatment and weaving psychological support into routine care.
- Dr Bob Young, delivered the Arnold Bloom lecture, focusing on the need for measuring and using findings from the National Diabetes Audit to deliver better diabetes care.
Top tip:
Measurement has the power to help us improve care for people with diabetes - Dr Bob Young
Day 2
- Mike Weedon spoke about developments in using genetics to understand rare and common forms of diabetes.
- ABCD in partnership with Diabetes Technology Network UK (DTN UK) released the Best Practice Guide:Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).
- The third annual National Diabetes Footcare Audit (NDFA) report was published.
- Findings from the Diabetes Foot Care Profile also showed a seven fold variation in major amputation rates, even after standardising for age and ethnicity. Use our tool for commissioning and planning an integrated footcare pathway (PDF, 668 KB).
- Profs Mike Lean and Roy Taylor shared findings from the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), including the role of social support and using different strategies to support participants to maintain their weight loss on a low calorie diet.
- A common theme for the day was the different diabetes sub types and getting the diabetes diagnosis right.
Top Tip:
Diabetes subtypes exist from the rare to the common. Be humble and use all the tools you have to hand to get the right diagnosis - Professor Andrew Hattersley
Day 3
- The main theme for the third and final day was immunology - we are making progress, but need people newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes to take part in research.
- One of the lectures looked at how good diabetes management is related to sleep. If you are interested in finding out more, read 'Why We Sleep' by Matthew Walker.
- Mayank Patel looked at all aspects of diabetes education including the role of pop culture in diabetes education at a population level. The Diabetes Type 1: Origins comic book gives a flavour of this.
- The final session on Friday saw some of the biggest names in diabetes research come together to share and celebrate the life-changing impact of our 80 year research legacy. Sir George Alberti challenged the diabetes community to really analyse what's gone before to get the maximum impact for every penny we spend on research moving forward.
Top Tip
You don't have to be a psychologist to talk to patients about their emotional health - Debbie Cooke
The Power of Perspective: reflections on DUKPC and DUKPCInsider
Type1Adventures shares key themes and take-home messages from the conference.
