Dietetics
The Diabetes Specialist Dietitians are based in the diabetes centre and are an integral part of the multi-disciplinary diabetes team. This includes the children’s diabetes team, antenatal diabetes team, community diabetes team, Diabetes Education team, and the adult hospital diabetes service.
Diabetes Dietitians offer specialist input for carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment, weight management, diabetes dietary advice in conjunction with of other medical conditions, gestational diabetes and pregnancy advice. They are involved in insulin pump initiation and review as well as delivering structured education for type 1 diabetes.
The aim of the Diabetes Dietetic service is to support people living with diabetes to improve their nutritional knowledge and ability to help people self-manage diabetes and their health.
We offer:
Dietary education and support following newly diagnosis of type 1 diabetes
- 1 to 1 carbohydrate counting education
- Carbohydrate counting group refresher sessions
- The DAFNE programme for those living with Type 1 diabetes
- Insulin pump, closed loop system support and associated diabetes technologies
Additional education and support for T1 & T2 diabetes
- Support for food choices during pregnancy and Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and preconception support
- Gestational diabetes dietary advice and a virtual gestational diabetes education session
- Healthy eating advice and healthy food relationships
- Weight management support
- Lower carbohydrate diet advice for those living with Type 2 diabetes
- Very low calorie diet advice for those living with Type 2 diabetes
- Dietary reviews for other related medical conditions linked with diabetes complications (including nutritional support for wound healing and feet conditions, coeliac disease, lipid lowering, basic renal dietary adjustment and initial advice for gastrointestinal conditions) and then onward signposting to relevant expert dietetic colleagues as required.
- Support for pancreatic exocrine insufficiency therapy (PERT) linked with diabetes conditions (including pancreatitis and secondary diabetes)
- Type 2 diabetes dietary advice
- Type 2 group education (DESMOND, ADAM and ESTA)
We also provide training and education sessions for other health care practitioners including GP and practice nurses, care home staff, district nurses, other dietitians.
Accessing the service
Patients need to be referred via their respective consultant or diabetes nurse or GP for the diabetes community team. We also accept referral from Diabetes Psychology team, Dietetic team and Diabetes podiatry team.