People with diabetes benefiting from more hospital foot care teams
Access to specialist foot care in UK hospitals has improved considerably over the last three years, according to the latest National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) report.
In 2011, roughly 4 out of every 10 hospitals (41.7%) did not have a specialist foot care team in place, despite the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) stating that every hospital (providing emergency medical care) should have one.
But the new report reveals that figure has now fallen to 28.2%, with diabetes patients among those who have benefited from this large increase in specialist foot care services.
Much of this improvement has been attributed to the charity group Diabetes UK, which over the last three years has been working with local services and people with diabetes in areas without access to specialist foot care teams to highlight their importance.
Through its ‘Putting Feet First’ campaign, the charity has shown local NHS organisations evidence that clearly demonstrates how having a multi-disciplinary foot care team (MDFT) helps to prevent serious foot complications, including life-changing lower limb amputations, and saves the NHS money.
The NaDIA report states: “As part of Diabetes UKs Putting Feet First campaign, trusts reporting in their NaDIA audit to have no MDFT [multi-disciplinary foot …read more
Source:: News from Diabetes.co.uk