Berkshire West’s Diabetes Sans Frontières Nominated

 (In the picture: Richard Croft receiving Second Prize in the Sanofi Quality in Care Diabetes Award, 16th Oct 2014)

Berkshire West’s Diabetes Sans Frontières (DSF) has been awarded second prize in the Sanofi Quality in Care Diabetes Award, while also being nominated as a finalist for another two awards, providing further evidence of their achievements since establishing the programme in 2012. The nominations follow DSF being shortlisted in May for a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Shared Learning Award.

The project’s Primary Care Diabetes Lead, Dr Croft commented, ‘I am delighted to see the work of the DSF Team being acknowledged within the medical world. To be nominated for four prestigious awards in less than six months is remarkable and demonstrates our success in delivering better care for diabetes in Berkshire West through co-operative joint working between primary care and secondary care clinicians and their patients.’

The Sanofi Quality in Care Diabetes Award focuses on a project’s ability to improve care.

Dr Ian Gallen, Community Diabetes Specialist at RBHFT, explains how DSF is an excellent candidate, ‘Our project set out to enable people with diabetes in Berkshire West to live healthier lives by improving outcomes and reducing complications. We achieved this by creating an environment where patients are informed and engaged with equallyinformed and motivated Health Care Professionals.’

The other nominations are:

The Thames Valley and Wessex Leadership Recognition Awards also acknowledges those leaders at all levels and across all professions who have ultimately improved people’s health, the public’s experience of the NHS.

Rod Smith, Chair of North and West Reading Clinical Commissioning Group, commented, ‘Often, projects can have patient information held in a number of ‘silos’, causing problems when multiple organisations need to access it. DSF established liaison between staff providing care for diabetes across several organisations in order to improve the overall quality of service provided.

The Clinical Team of the Year – Diabetes Award recognises projects that deliver invaluable patient care for diabetes management and long term patient care.

As Dr Croft explains, ‘Our nomination highlights how our project set out to enable people to live healthier lives by taking control and responsibility for their own health. The Team has achieved improvements to quality and outcomes, while also delivering improvements in markers, in other words, how we monitor changes in a person’s condition.’

The winners of the two remaining Awards will be announced during November. Meanwhile, the DSF Team is working proactively to share the model nationally.

Richard Lane OBE, President of Diabetes UK, added, ‘I’m delighted that the DSF Team, under the inspiring leadership of Dr Richard Croft, has been nominated for three prestigious awards. I came to speak to their Patient Group fairly recently and I was so impressed with the commitment and determination to improve all services available to people with diabetes across Berkshire West.

 

‘I wish them well for what should be much deserved success.’