Dynamic Duo win DESMOND Award for Excellence.
Julia Burdon DESMOND accreditor and Zoe Whitfield, Structured Education Coordinator
The DESMOND team from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust provide group and digital healthcare education for people living with type 2 diabetes on how to self-manage the condition.
The team provides both the DESMOND programme for anyone with new or established type 2 diabetes, and the follow-on Injectable Therapies programme designed to support people with type 2 diabetes on insulin or GLP-1 therapies.
To ensure maximum success, the team works collaboratively to support the delivery of excellent diabetes care with colleagues working in the community and primary care.
In 2023, Zoe Whitfield and Julie Wright, Structured Education Coordinators were nominated for and won the Celebrating DESMOND Award for Excellence.
Alison Northern, Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) Implementation Lead, said "Zoe and Julie, as well as the rest of the Cumbria DESMOND team, really are exemplars at what they do. They have worked tirelessly since coming into post. It is great to see the positive change they are bringing for people with type 2 diabetes from across Cumbria, and how they have built procedures and relationships that are sustainably meeting the needs of the local population."
Here is how Zoe and Julie have excelled in providing the DESMOND programme:
1. Restoring confidence post-COVID
Following the COVID-19 pandemic the structured education service across Cumbria was flagging. Participants were apprehensive about attending DESMOND courses face to face. Zoe joined Julie as part of the Structured Education Coordinator team, and they set about recruiting and reassuring participants for the courses.
By addressing participants' concerns with understanding, compassion, and kindness, they were able to recruit until the courses were at full capacity once again.
Zoe was also instrumental in launching virtual, evening and Saturday courses to further increase participant attendance.
And they managed all this while working remotely, over 40 miles apart!
2. Integrating new team members
An additional challenge that Zoe and Julie had to overcome was the recruitment of seven new DESMOND Educators and two new facilitators for the Injectable Therapies programme, who needed to be integrated into the team.
To facilitate this, and to make the new team members welcome, Julie and Zoe organised a monthly Educator meeting on MS Teams. This helped the team to stay connected and any issues to be brought up and resolved. Zoe and Julie continue to support all their Educators in this way.
3. Networking with GPs
Julie organises a rolling programme of education for GPs and Practice Nurses every quarter, which is well attended with over 70 members of practice teams attending.
Despite being reluctant public speakers, Zoe and Julie regularly present updates to attendees on both the DESMOND and Injectable Therapies programmes, as well as promoting these at every meeting to ensure that everyone is aware of what is available and how to refer their patients to each programme.
Zoe and Julie are now in the process of identifying General Practices that have lower participant referral rates to the DESMOND programme, in order to establish ways of encouraging uptake. As Zoe and Julie have developed a great relationship with practice teams right across Cumbria, they now feel able to approach staff to discuss strategies that could increase the likelihood of them referring more people living with type 2 diabetes onto courses.
What impact have Zoe & Julie had?
Emma Simpson, Diabetes Specialist Dietician, DESMOND, and Injectable Therapies Educator, who supported Zoe and Julie’s nomination for the award, explains:
“Zoe and Julie are the most dedicated and efficient education coordinator double act.
"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic participants had long waits for DESMOND courses and they managed to swiftly organise and recruit participants onto courses to get the backlogs cleared, all while being reassuring and supportive with patient concerns.
"They put a lot of enthusiasm and commitment into the recruitment process, which makes sure our courses are full and well attended. Participants arrive at courses feeling relaxed and reassured about what the day will entail.
"New DESMOND Educator meetings have been scheduled regularly to keep us organised and in the loop, allowing us to function as a well-organised and efficient DESMOND team. They keep our calendars full of courses, our venues booked and resources up to date. We could not be without them!”