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