RCoA and Diabetes UK respond to report on the perioperative management of patients with diabetes

Responding to the publication [Thursday 13 December 2018] of the ‘National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Deaths’ (NCEPOD) ‘High and Lows’ report, a review of the quality of adult diabetes care for patients who underwent a surgical procedure, Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists said:

“The report places a focus on the enormous and unwarranted variation in the standard of care provided to patients with diabetes who have had surgery. The consistency in the delivery of safe and effective care for this vulnerable and growing patient group needs to be improved.

“As a member of a multi-disciplinary perioperative diabetes team, anaesthetists have a key role to play in improving the management of patient care. The report notes that less than one in three hospitals (28%) had a named clinical lead for perioperative diabetes care, undermining the co-ordination of the care pathway.

“The study also notes the overwhelming number of guidelines that promote better care for an individual clinical specialty, but not for the team as a whole, and how this might detrimentally impact the joint-ownership of the care pathway.

“The College is  pleased to be working with Diabetes UK to improve inpatient diabetes care in the perioperative period and hope to bring together representatives from the full perioperative team to tackle this issue of coordination of care. We look forward to working with partners to consider the recommendations of this report in a coordinated and multi-disciplinary manner.”

Professor Gerry Rayman, inpatient clinical lead at Diabetes UK said:

“We welcome the release of this report, which highlights significant problems in how people with diabetes who require surgery are cared for during their hospital stay. The report also makes sound recommendations on what needs to be done to improve care for people with diabetes requiring surgery.

“It’s now down to NHS Trusts to ensure that the recommendations are adopted. These recommendations would go a long way towards improving the inpatient experience for people with diabetes undergoing surgery. They would also help to reduce the lengths of stay for people with diabetes, reduce mortality rates and minimise the harm associated with poor diabetes control.”