New recommendations to improve end of life care for people with diabetes

Trend Diabetes has reviewed guidance and developed vital new resources to assist healthcare professionals in providing optimal care for individuals with diabetes in their final days of life.

Endorsed by Diabetes UK, the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists, the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People, and the Primary Care Diabetes Society, the resources include clinical recommendations, a concise version focused on glycaemic management, and a factsheet with an algorithm to provide guidance relating to medication.

June James, Co-Chair of Trend Diabetes and Independent Consultant, Diabetes Nursing said: “End of life care in diabetes continues to be under investigated and there is a dearth of guidelines, recommendations, and research into this topic.

“Caring for people with diabetes as they approach the last year, month and days of life often falls to health care professionals who are not specialists in diabetes care, so it is important that clear clinical recommendations are accessible to promote good quality care.”

Professor Alan Sinclair, Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People, Kings College, London added: “The documents provide an update to the excellent resources produced originally by Diabetes UK in 2013. It aims to summarise a consistent but high-quality approach towards end-of-life care for people with diabetes by providing a series of clinical care recommendations.”

End of life care for people living with diabetes can be complex due to the multiplicity of insulin and non-insulin therapies available. The newly developed algorithm aims to address these challenges by offering clear, accessible recommendations to non-specialist healthcare providers, in relation to medications and possible withdrawal of diabetes therapies.

Simon O'Neill, Director of Care and Clinical Intelligence, Diabetes UK said: “Managing diabetes is an added stress for those who are nearing the end of their life and for their families. The special issues and challenges of diabetes can make this emotional time harder to manage for everyone involved.

“These changes to recommendations provide health and social care professionals with a valuable resource to help improve the quality of care delivered to meet the personal preferences and priorities of those who are dying, their families and carers.”

You can access the new resources at https://trenddiabetes.online/end-of-life-care/