Diabetes Nurse

Job summary

Role purpose

• The Primary Care Diabetes Specialist Nurse provides expert clinical care, education, and support to patients with diabetes within primary care settings. The role focuses on improving glycaemic control, preventing diabetes-related complications, and empowering patients to self-manage their condition.
• The role contributes to reducing health inequalities by supporting earlier diagnosis, optimising long term management, and improving outcomes for underserved or high-risk populations.
• The nurse supports GP practices by providing specialist diabetes expertise, reviewing complex cases, optimising treatment plans, and helping practices meet national diabetes care standards.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist assessment, management and support for patients with Type 1, Type 2, gestational and other forms of diabetes, including LADA, MODY and secondary diabetes. Undertake comprehensive reviews covering glycaemic control, cardiovascular risk, medication optimisation and lifestyle. Initiate and titrate diabetes medication, including insulin where appropriately trained, and support use of CGM/flash monitoring.
• Identify and manage acute issues including hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and DKA risk, providing safety-netting and sick-day advice. Monitor and manage risk of long-term complications including cardiovascular, renal, neurological and retinal disease.
• Provide personalised education on self-management, nutrition, weight management, physical activity, glucose monitoring and medication adherence.
• Provide specialist advice, education and training to GPs, practice nurses and primary care teams, supporting complex diabetes management, insulin initiation/titration and care planning.
• Identify and proactively manage high-risk patients and contribute to personalised care plans, audit, quality improvement and service development.
• Work collaboratively with primary and secondary care MDTs and facilitate appropriate referrals. Maintain competencies through CPD, reflective practice and training.