Diabetes
Health

Keith Vaz (Leicester East, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure standards in (a) patient education, (b) diabetes training for NHS staff and (c) provision of diabetes specialist nurses are consistently high.

Paul Burstow (Minister of State (Care Services), Health; Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)

Local national health service organisations are responsible for providing high quality and safe diabetes services appropriate to their local populations, including providing information and education to people with diabetes about their condition and how to manage it. The NHS Operating Framework 2011-12 specifically stated that primary care trusts should commission appropriate structured education to support all people with diabetes. The Best Practice Tariff for paediatric diabetes introduced in April 2012 includes a requirement for advice, including education, to be available to patients and their families.

“Liberating the NHS: Developing the Healthcare Workforce from Design to Delivery” states that those working in health services need to be well supported to attain the right professional and clinical skills. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

NHS employers, in consultation with patients, will have greater autonomy and accountability for planning and developing their workforce. Accountability for training is with providers supported by health care professionals who understand the local needs of their workforce, and nationally with Health Education England. It is therefore local health care organisations, with their knowledge of the needs of their local populations, that are best placed to determine the workforce required to deliver safe patient care within their available resources.