Children's diabetes

About

Our team provides a dedicated and dynamic service for children with diabetes. We support and educate all our patients and families to manage their long-term condition and believe they are the centre of our team. We aim to lead the way in advanced diabetes practice and provide a range of education and support services for our patients, families and staff including facilitated parents’ groups, carbohydrate counting workshops for families, educational and peer-support building afternoons.

Care and management

Our children’s diabetes service provides comprehensive care and support to children with diabetes and their families. Each patient is assigned a key worker from diagnosis or their first hospital appointment with our service. Key workers help patients manage their condition and serve as resources for patients between appointments. Our treatments include flexible injection regimens and insulin pump therapy, as well as a variety of support and educational resources.

The service provides care to children and young people with diabetes from birth to their 19th birthday. We operate a unique service for all our local children and young people with diabetes, with a commitment to minimally disrupt the normal lives of the children and their families. We provide a large part of their care in the community, including home visits and working closely with all the professionals concerned. We also help young people with diabetes as they transition to adult care.

Further online resources

Clinical trials and research

We participate in the Address 2 project that is for any newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes patient over the age of five years. The idea of the project is twofold: to produce a register of type 1 diabetes that would give the patient access to other research projects in the future if they wish to partake and also to look at the differences in siblings’ genetics versus the newly diagnosed patient. The trial is ongoing at present with no finalised end date. Please speak to your key worker about this at diagnosis if you wish to take part.

Education and elective placements

We offer short placements for work experience students, medical students and nursing students. Please contact the Trust’s human resources team if you are outside the Trust, or your education lead if you are in the Trust. 

Further online resources

• NHS choices – diabetes and your child
• Diabetes.co.uk – children and diabetes 
• Diabetes UK children’s website
• Diabetes UK information for parents
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Children's diabetes clinics

Address

Paediatric outpatients department
Sixth floor
Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother (QEQM) building
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 6482

Young adult diabetes clinic

Address

Diabetes centre
First floor
Mint wing
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Please note: The Mint wing is accessible from South Wharf Road. 

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 6482

Additional information

If your child is attending for a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) attachment, they should attend the paediatric short stay unit (PSSU) on the seventh floor of the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother (QEQM) building at St Mary’s Hospital.

Dr Mando Watson, consultant paediatrician
Dr Samir Wassouf, associate specialist
Dr Karen Logan, consultant paediatrician
Dr Sudeshna Ghosh, consultant paediatrician
Chris Bound, lead paediatric diabetes nurse specialist
Soraia Vieira, young persons and transition diabetes nurse specialist
Zelalem Mengistu, junior clinical nurse specialist
Dr Annamarie Rankin, clinical psychologist

Before your appointment

You should attend all appointments with your child if they are under the age of 16. Carers and friends are also welcome to attend. You are welcome to ask for a chaperone for your child’s appointment and we will endeavour to provide one for you.

Please work with your child to keep a food diary with accurate weights and measurements of their foods, Bg levels and insulin given for four to five days prior to the appointment. If your child is on an insulin pump, we ask that they do a carb-free fast to check basal patterns and that they download their pump at least 24 hours before the appointment.

Please remember to bring your child’s blood glucose meters, food diary, insulin pen and hypo treatment to their standard appointments.

During your appointment

Appointments usually take between 30 minutes and one hour depending on the reason for the appointment. The length of time will be discussed with you prior to your child’s appointment.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you or your child do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

Appointments typically include a review of your child’s diabetes management, answering any queries, administering blood tests, checking your child’s height and weight, education as needed and requested, and a review of your child’s continuous glucose monitor (CGM) applications. Your appointment may also include annual reviews and psychology input if requested.

Your child will be required to have a blood test once every three months. This can usually be done by a finger prick. Once a year, a full set of screening bloods will be done and on occasion more frequently if there is a medical need. Your child will also have a continuous glucose monitor fitted once or twice a year to help them in understanding their diabetes management and control.

After your appointment

Your child will be assigned a key worker who will follow up and keep you and your child updated as requested and based on your child’s condition and needs. Your child will be seen every three months by their key worker and more frequently if requested or needed for support. The key worker will also refer to psychology and the team’s specialist dietitian for support if requested. The key worker also provides education and support to schools and other community services as needed by your child and your family.

If your child is already a patient with our service, please call their key worker with any concerns or problems or call 020 3312 6482.

GP

Please use NHS e-Referrals to refer a patient to our children's diabetes service, which can be accessed via children's endocrinology on NHS e-Referrals.

Secondary care

Please contact the team on 020 3312 6482 to discuss referral options.

GP advice

For new diagnoses and diabetic emergencies, contact the on-call paediatric registrar on bleep 1202 via 020 3312 6666.