Diabetes and Endocrinology service
The diabetes centre at Bedford Hospital provides services to patients with diabetes and endocrine conditions.
We provide both in and outpatient services. The outpatient services are based in the diabetes centre on the second floor of the Cauldwell Centre. The centre has consultation rooms for doctors, nurses, dietitians and podiatrists. We also have a retinal screening room and a seminar room.
The inpatient service covers patients directly under the care of the consultants and an advisory service for patients with diabetes under the care of other consultants.
We have a multidisciplinary team of doctors, diabetes specialist nurses, specialist dietitians and specialist podiatrists. We also have an endocrine specialist nurse and a team of administrative staff who support the clinicians.
The department deals with the diagnosis and management of a diverse range of hormonal and metabolic disorders. It encompasses a wide variety of conditions ranging from those which are common, for example type 2 diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome, to those that are rare but eminently treatable such as pituitary tumours, multiple endocrine neoplasia and Addison’s disease.
We aim to provide a flexible and responsive service from a multi-professional team. We try to treat patients as individuals, recognising that a long term condition such as diabetes may affect many aspects of people’s lives. Our goal is to empower patients to enable them to manage their diabetes with confidence. We also have a telephone service for advice between appointments which is available on
01234 792287
Clinics
We offer a young adult clinic for patients aged 16-21 years with diabetes, an adult diabetes service for any patient with type 1 diabetes and for patients with type 2 diabetes who’s GP recommends a specialist review. We also offer a specialist diabetes foot service for patients with diabetic foot problems and a joint antenatal/diabetes service with the obstetric service for pregnant ladies who have diabetes (this clinic is held in the Cygnet Wing). We provide counselling and advice for ladies with diabetes who wish to conceive and also run a dose adjustment for normal eating (DAFNE) course for adults with type 1 diabetes.
The endocrine service sees patients with thyroid disorders, pituitary disorders, PCOS, adrenal disorders, hirsutism, and other endocrine conditions. The clinic performs endocrine investigations and thyroid biopsies.
Most clinics are held in the diabetes centre except the the antenatal/diabetes clinic which is held in Cygnet Wing.
- Antenatal/diabetes clinic
- Diabetes foot clinic
- Diabetes follow-up clinic
- Endocrine/general medical new patient clinic
- Endocrine nurse investigation clinic
- General endocrine follow-up clinic
- High risk diabetes clinic
- Nephrology (satellite clinic from the Lister Hospital)
- Podiatry
- Preliminary new patient diabetes clinic
- Young adult diabetes clinic (alternate weeks)
Diabetic Eye Screening
As of 2 April 2024, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Milton Keynes University Hospital are now the lead providers for the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK).
Both NHS Trusts already run DESP for their own respective areas but have now joined forces to provide clinical leadership and deliver screenings at more locations to increase accessibility to patients across BLMK. This will enable us to deliver a single, efficient, effective, and standardised service across the whole of BLMK.
Patients do not need to do anything differently as they will be contacted as normal for their regular diabetic eye screening appointments. This new service will be delivered in 41 locations across BLMK.
Eye screening is a key part of diabetes care, and all diabetic patients aged 12 years or older, should have a specialist diabetic eye screening test every year due to the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy which can severely affect their sight.
Screening can detect the condition early and before any changes to the vision are noted by the patient and where needed the patient can be referred into hospital eye services for treatment. Early treatment can prevent severe sight loss. Full information about the Programme and the list of locations can be found at: www.BLMKDiabeticEyeScreening.nhs.uk
Staff
- About the Diabetes service
- Inpatient Diabetes Service
- What we do
- Diabetes Information for Patients
- Endocrinology Service
Find out information about the Diabetes Psychology Service, available at Bedford Hospital and the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.
Read about the Diabetes Psychology Service.