Diabetes - palliative and end of life care

End of life care for people with diabetes has been a neglected area in terms of guidance for the specific needs of people with diabetes. Some recent initiatives however have responded to this gap in providing specific guidance and standards of care.

These resources were last accessed on 31 October 2012. Some of them are in PDF format – see how to access PDF files.

Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) (2010) Diabetes and end of life care
The Association has issued this guidance on how clinicians can best complement diabetes care and palliative care in a hospital, hospice or community setting. The publication is made available on the National End of Life Care Programme website.

Diabetes UK (2012) End of life diabetes care
This guidance which is presented in a number of documents including a strategy document, was commissioned by Diabetes UK and has been endorsed by leading diabetes organisations. It builds on the end of life care strategy published by the Department of Health in 2008 providing clinical care recommendations specific to the needs of people with diabetes. The guidance includes algorithms and information sheets related to staff competencies.
See also NHS Diabetes: New end of life diabetes care strategy.

National End of Life Care Programme
The National End of Life Care Programme (NEoLCP)works with health and social services across all sectors in England to improve care for adults and the website is designed to support health and social care staff working, in any capacity, with people nearing the end of life. A range of publications, tools and case studies is available on the NEoLCP website. This includes guidance produced in conjunction with the Royal College of Nursing highlighting the key nursing contributions within the six steps of the end of life care pathway Route to success: the key contribution of nursing to end of life care.

NHS Diabetes: Areas of care: End of life
This page is aimed at commissioners and providers of diabetes care. It brings together guidance, policy, commissioning guides, links to care pathways and examples of how services can be improved for people with diabetes.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (2010) Diabetes in palliative care guidelines (PDF 129KB)
These local guidelines have been developed by the Diabetes Specialist team from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the Palliative Care team across Teesside. The aim is “to provide an updated, practical and where possible, evidence based, co-ordinated approach to management of co-existing diabetes in patients receiving palliative care”.

See other specific contexts and populations.