Diabetes

HC Deb 09 January 2003 vol 397 cc14-5WS

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. David Lammy)

We are publishing the diabetes national service framework delivery strategy today, just 13 months after publishing the diabetes national service framework standards. An implementation group of outside experts has helped us to develop the delivery strategy. This is an important NSF and the first to be published under the "Shifting the Balance of Power" reforms. As such, it needed to be developed in a new way.

The delivery strategy confirms the targets in improvement, expansion and reform: the next three years: putting in place registers, education and advice, to support systematic treatment regimes ensuring a systematic eye-screening programme to national standards. These are the first steps in reaching national diabetes standards for services which: lead to fewer people developing diabetes and better care for those who have it are centred around the needs of people with diabetes, developed in partnership with health care staff, equitable, integrated and focused on delivering the best outcomes for the person with diabetes offer care that is structured and pro-active providing people with the support they need to manage their own condition.

The delivery strategy offers a framework for the NHS to build capacity to put in place building blocks for the NHS to reach the national service framework (NSF) standards over the next ten years. In addition to the two targets, key elements are: setting up a local diabetes network, or similarly robust mechanism, which involves identifying local leaders and appointing and resourcing network managers, clinical champions and a person(s) with diabetes to champion the views of local people reviewing the local baseline assessment, establishing and promulgating local implementation arrangements with a trajectory to reach the standards participating in comparative local and national audit undertaking a local workforce skills profile of staff involved in the care of people with diabetes and developing education and training programmes with the local Workforce Development Confederation.

As announced in the delivery strategy, we plan to appoint a national clinical director for diabetes this spring to provide both national leadership and support to localities in delivering the national service framework.

Copies of the diabetes national service framework delivery strategy have been placed in the Library.