Diabetes patients in the east of England who experience a diabetes-related medical emergency are to receive extra help, as part of a new initiative by the Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN).
Every year, the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) receives around 10,000 emergency calls from diabetics who are experiencing hypoglycemia.
The new project, which is aimed at helping the 300,000 people with diabetes in the east of England, is designed to reduce the number of hospital admissions and ambulance call-outs as a result of diabetes, and hypoglycemia in particular. People who need to call an ambulance as a result of their hypoglycemia will receive additional support to prevent the problem from recurring.
The support will consist of education sessions with clinical educators, which explain how hypos are caused, and how they people with diabetes can prevent them.
Professor Mike Sampso, a consultant in endocrinology at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and leader of the project, said: “The issue of severe hypo in people with diabetes is more common than we realised with up to 10,000 emergency calls per year in the East of England.
“This puts a lot of pressure on the region’s ambulance service, A&E departments, and admission wards, and we hope that this project will reduce some of this pressure over the next few years.”
The project represents an exciting development in attitudes to diabetes, and suggests improvement in diabetes education and awareness.

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