The challenge

The new Midlands SHA super region takes in the East Midlands, West Midlands and the East of England. It ranges from Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire in the west to Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in the east. Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire make up the centre of the region.

The area has a total population of 15.3 million residents and NHS Diabetes is committed to making sure everyone with diabetes in the region has access to the right care and treatment.

NHS Diabetes regional highlights

• Developing diabetes care skills and knowledge in care homes in Sandwell, in conjunction with West Midlands Care Association, Sandwell PCT and Sandwell Social Services.
• Working with the WISDEM team at University Hospital Coventry and Warwick to develop awareness and skills around emotional and psychological aspects of diabetes care.
• Developing and managing a dedicated paediatric diabetes network for the West Midlands and East Midlands.
• Supporting local diabetes networks across the region.
• A project was developed with Leicestershire Partnerships NHS Trust looking at the work they had completed through Pacesetters. An aide memoir was produced to educate staff about diabetes and breach communications barriers with BME populations.
• Worked with Bassetlaw Community Health to deliver diabetic footcare training as part of an educational grant agreed by Diabetes UK and NHS Bassetlaw.
• Improving diabetes care for older people across the East Midlands as part of the ‘Putting theory of co-production into practice’ project.