Successful Diabetes Position Statement on Type 2 Diabetes Education and Diabetes Manual Complete
October 2014
Download Position Statement (opens PDF)
"Structured education for people with Type 2 diabetes is recommended in all expert guidelines for diabetes care, including those from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Diabetes UK. According to these reports, it should be provided by the NHS to everyone with Type 2 diabetes who is eligible
Eleven (11) Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) points are awarded to practices who refer people with diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2) to a structured education programme within 9 months of entry onto the diabetes register. Attendance at a programme does not attract QOF points at present.
NHS commissioning bodies (eg Clinical Commissioning Groups) do not always see diabetes structured education as important or affordable, despite some very strong evidence that it is beneficial in learning to live successfully with diabetes. Audits have shown that nationally, only 13.5% of people with Type 2 diabetes are being offered structured education and only about 3% are receiving it. This situation could be related to the orientation of QOF points mentioned above.
Successful Diabetes strongly supports provision of structured education within the NHS and is working hard to increase provision from group based programmes only, to also include an evidence-based one-to-one programme, the Diabetes Manual Programme. Having a mixture of types of programmes helps to meet the educational needs of the whole population of people with Type 2 diabetes and reduce the present inequality of access.
In addition, many people with Type 2 diabetes prefer the one-to-one approach that the Diabetes Manual Programme provides, and it is also simpler, quicker and cheaper to provide this programme ‘in house’ by an individual general practice, than it is to refer to a group-based programme.
The Diabetes Manual Programme is currently available from Successful Diabetes for commission by health and social care organisations to provide to people with Type 2 diabetes.
We also encourage everyone with diabetes who is not being offered structured education, or expected to wait for it, to make enquiries of their local health organisation (eg Clinical Commissioning Group in England, or equivalent in other nations), about their provision and lobby for better education services if necessary (eg via Diabetes UK or other local support organisation)
Local organisations can be found here:
OR
Diabetes Manual Complete
In the meantime, to enable more people to benefit from structured education, we have made the Diabetes Manual Programme (DMP) available as ‘Diabetes Manual Complete’, for people with Type 2 diabetes in the UK to access independently at a small, inclusive cost.
The Diabetes Manual Programme:
- Is a tried and tested, research-backed structured education programme, developed in the UK for people with Type 2 diabetes.
- The Diabetes Manual Programme gives confidence and skills to manage diabetes successfully and helps people adapt to it psychologically as well as physically.
- Meets all the requirements laid down by NICE and Diabetes UK for an NHS structured education programme.
Successful Diabetes distributes ‘Diabetes Manual Complete’ under license from the University of Warwick."