Hospital discharge guidelines updated

By Editor
25th January 2022
Guidelines, Inpatient Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes

Latest advice on discharge planning for people with diabetes who have been admitted to hospital has been published.

The Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care (JBDS-IP) has released updated guidance, Discharge planning for adults with diabetes, to improve standards of care.

Along with the latest advice on discharge planning in general, the guidelines also address the specific needs of people with diabetes.

Lead author Esther Walden, of Diabetes UK and formerly Diabetes Specialist Nurse, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and former Chair, Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurse UK Group, said: “Almost one fifth of hospital beds in England and Wales are occupied up by people with diabetes.

“Poor discharge planning can lead to poorer outcomes and increased rates of readmission for people with diabetes. Therefore, it is essential that the discharge process is well planned, documented, and communicated and is made in agreement with the person with diabetes and their carers.”

The changes include:

  • The classification of discharges has been updated to reflect current government discharge pathways including the discharge to assess model
  • A section on special circumstances is now been included
  • Where necessary, links to other JBDS guidelines that may be pertinent have been added
  • The appendices have been updated to include general information on frailty.

Key points in the guidelines include taking into account a person’s ability to self-manage, their functional status and comorbidity profile and their level of social support when choosing a glycaemic management plan for discharge.

The authors also recommend that people who are discharged to a care home should have a discharge plan agreed between all stakeholders including primary care, community nursing and the care provider.

In addition, they stress that the discharge planning process should include all of the person’s needs, of which diabetes should be a part, not the sole focus.

One of the authors of the guidelines, Professor Ketan Dhatariya, Consultant in Diabetes & Endocrinology at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This latest publication adds to the growing armamentarium of revised JBDS guidelines that we hope diabetes teams, and others, will find useful.”

The guidelines are aimed at hospital multidisciplinary Diabetes Specialist Teams (DST), all medical and nursing staff and allied healthcare professionals looking after people with diabetes in hospital and all members of the community diabetes care provider team, among others.

View the updated guidelines here: Discharge planning for adults with diabetes.

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