Update on prison diabetic care audit

Published: 04 May 2010

Preliminary findings suggest both areas of excellence and room for improvement in diabetes care among the UK’s prison population, says Keith Booles, who reports on a nationwide audit in response to forum members’ concerns.

As a member of the RCN Diabetes Forum steering committee, I have been working with former committee member Patricia Clawson, a community DSN from Northern Ireland, on a research project exploring diabetes care in UK prisons.

This study is now being written up following the analysis and evaluation of the results gathered via an audit last year from prison nurses in the UK, assessing the care and management of inmates with diabetes.

It has been clearly identified in our initial reading of the findings that while there are aspects of excellence in practice, there are also areas within which further work and support will be required to improve care of this client group living in a specialised environment.

Our report will be published later this year on the RCN website and this information will be broadcast on our own forum web pages.