More support needed for care home diabetes audit

Care home owners and managers across England are being urged to show their support for a landmark diabetes audit.
The nationwide review is being conducted by the Institute of Diabetes in Older People (IDOP) and The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) in a bid to collect vital information on current procedures and practice for diabetic patients living in residential care homes .
It is hoped this data will help establish how improvements in diabetes diagnosis and treatment for elderly patients can be made.
So far 17,500 surveys have been sent out to residential and nursing homes across the country, but less than 2,000 have been returned to the organisers, who warn that a lack of forward-planning could lead to “unnecessary suffering and even premature deaths” among the residential care community.
Professor Alan Sinclair, IDOP director and national clinical lead for diabetes in older people and head of the Care Home Diabetes Audit, said: “According to our current research, the proportion of care home residents with diabetes has already approached 27 per cent. Given this alarming statistic, we know that many care homes will wish to improve the ways in which care is organised and delivered for this large group of patients.”
“This is a situation that can and must be addressed,” he added. “The first stage is to understand as much as possible about the current levels of care and existing procedures, which is why our survey is so important.
“I urge all care home managers and owners to ensure that their homes participate in this vital process.”