New diabetes safety training aims to reduce avoidable inpatient harm
CDEP (www.cdep.org.uk) has launched a new competency-based training topic giving Hospital Trusts a practical, scalable and auditable way to equip staff with essential diabetes safety knowledge.
People with diabetes are cared for across every area of the hospital, not only by specialist diabetes teams. For non-specialist staff, recognising and responding appropriately to hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemic emergencies, insulin-related risks and problems associated with diabetes technology can make a critical difference to patient safety.
The Cambridge Diabetes Education Programme (CDEP) has launched Inpatient Diabetes Safety Essentials, developed in partnership with Claire Henke, Consultant Nurse at Frimley Health. Designed specifically for non-specialist inpatient staff, the training focuses on the practical knowledge they need to recognise risk, act safely and escalate promptly when specialist support is required.
“A missed insulin dose, an untreated hypo or a failure to recognise developing DKA can cause serious harm very quickly. This training focuses on the essential safety issues staff need to recognise at the bedside, while remaining short enough to incorporate into mandatory training. For Trusts, it offers a consistent way to provide essential diabetes safety training across large and diverse workforces.”
Candice Ward, CDEP Lead
Designed for practical deployment
- Standardised, competency-based training suitable for staff across wards, professions and hospital sites.
- Bite-sized online learning available 24/7.
- Delivery through the CDEP website or through a Trust’s Electronic Staff Record (ESR) or Learning Management System (LMS).
- Certification and evidence of completion, with aggregated uptake and outcome reporting available to training leads.
- The ability to assign the training to defined staff groups as essential or mandatory learning.
- Clear progression to more detailed CDEP topics according to staff role and responsibility.
What staff will learn
Inpatient Diabetes Safety Essentials focuses on four high-priority areas:
- Recognising, preventing and responding appropriately to hypoglycaemia.
- Recognising hyperglycaemic emergencies and knowing when urgent escalation is required.
- Reducing insulin-related errors and supporting safer insulin use.
- Recognising and responding to safety issues associated with diabetes technology in hospital.
“Inpatient Diabetes Safety Essentials has been designed to provide the foundation knowledge non-specialist staff need in a practical and accessible way. By increasing awareness of key risks, we can help staff recognise problems earlier, respond appropriately and escalate when needed.”
Claire Henke, Consultant Nurse at Frimley Health
A practical response to a workforce-wide safety challenge
For NHS Trusts, the challenge is ensuring that large numbers of staff across different wards, professions and sites understand the essential diabetes safety messages and can apply them in everyday practice. CDEP provides a ready-made, quality-assured and auditable way to deliver that training consistently across the relevant workforce.
Inpatient Diabetes Safety Essentials provides a baseline level of safety training. Staff who require greater depth can then progress to more detailed CDEP learning, including Safe Use of Insulin, Hypoglycaemia, Blood Glucose Monitoring, Ketone Monitoring and Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), according to their role and responsibilities.
Interested in deploying CDEP within your Trust?
Contact CDEP to discuss implementation, ESR/LMS integration or to arrange a demonstration: info@cdep.org.uk
