Ellen
02-05-2007, 09:03 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6315279.stm
Apology as diabetic helpline shut
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42515000/jpg/_42515071_diabetic203.jpg Student Lorna Keast says diabetics sometimes need help
Hospital bosses have apologised for cutbacks which have left diabetics in Sussex without their 24-hour helpline.
It closed in December, along with the specialist diabetic ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, as part of a drive to save £10m.
"I don't think patients were considered very much at all and we weren't consulted," said Tony Reynolds of the Burgess Hill Diabetic Group.
Clinical director Dr John Hartley said he accepted people had valid concerns.
One of the people affected by the change, 20-year-old Lorna Keast, has been a Type 1 diabetic since she was a child and has to inject herself with insulin five times a day.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gifhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif I apologise for the fact that we are not where we would like to be at this moment http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif
Dr John Hartley
She is studying forensic science in Canterbury and has a nurse on campus when she is in Kent, but does not have the same support at home in Burgess Hill.
"If you have a hypoglycaemic attack when your sugar levels drop too low, you can become confused, dizzy and shaky," she said.
"Sometimes it takes a long time to get over it and you do need someone there just to keep you calm, to tell you what to do and just help you through it."
Diabetic nurses were redeployed to other wards when the specialist Grant Ward at the Royal Sussex was closed.
"I accept that we are not providing the same level of service that we were providing a year ago," said Dr Hartley.
"It is the trust's full intention to put that right and I apologise for the fact that we are not where we would like to be at this moment."
Staff are currently being trained so the 24-hour helpline can be reopened, but the hospital is not yet able to say when that will be.
Diabetes UK said it was dismayed at the closure but not surprised. "The focus these days is very much on the bottom line," said spokeswoman Penny Mordent. "We have heard a lot about deficits and they are obviously having an effect on services."
Apology as diabetic helpline shut
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42515000/jpg/_42515071_diabetic203.jpg Student Lorna Keast says diabetics sometimes need help
Hospital bosses have apologised for cutbacks which have left diabetics in Sussex without their 24-hour helpline.
It closed in December, along with the specialist diabetic ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, as part of a drive to save £10m.
"I don't think patients were considered very much at all and we weren't consulted," said Tony Reynolds of the Burgess Hill Diabetic Group.
Clinical director Dr John Hartley said he accepted people had valid concerns.
One of the people affected by the change, 20-year-old Lorna Keast, has been a Type 1 diabetic since she was a child and has to inject herself with insulin five times a day.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gifhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif I apologise for the fact that we are not where we would like to be at this moment http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif
Dr John Hartley
She is studying forensic science in Canterbury and has a nurse on campus when she is in Kent, but does not have the same support at home in Burgess Hill.
"If you have a hypoglycaemic attack when your sugar levels drop too low, you can become confused, dizzy and shaky," she said.
"Sometimes it takes a long time to get over it and you do need someone there just to keep you calm, to tell you what to do and just help you through it."
Diabetic nurses were redeployed to other wards when the specialist Grant Ward at the Royal Sussex was closed.
"I accept that we are not providing the same level of service that we were providing a year ago," said Dr Hartley.
"It is the trust's full intention to put that right and I apologise for the fact that we are not where we would like to be at this moment."
Staff are currently being trained so the 24-hour helpline can be reopened, but the hospital is not yet able to say when that will be.
Diabetes UK said it was dismayed at the closure but not surprised. "The focus these days is very much on the bottom line," said spokeswoman Penny Mordent. "We have heard a lot about deficits and they are obviously having an effect on services."