A diabetes nursing qualification is being established in England to standardise the qualities needed for nurses specialising in the condition, The Diabetes Times has learned.
NHS England has given its backing to the scheme being put forward by leading nursing organisation TREND-UK (Training, Research and Education for Nurses in Diabetes-UK).
Debbie Hicks, Jill Hill and June James, the co-chairs of TREND-UK, want the role to have a clearer definition and for a single foundation diabetes specialist qualification to be made available, as is currently available in Northern Ireland.
This is because at the moment there is no qualification available for a diabetes specialist nurse, which means anyone within the field of nursing could potentially become one.
The trio of senior nurses have already met with Diabetes UK and representatives from Leicester and Swansea universities to discuss the next step. All parties are working together to create a position statement on the subject to be released later this year.
Progress has already been made as NHS England has identified what the role of a DSN should look like and how it differs to the job of a practice nurse, but work still needs to be done in a bid to persuade the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to back the idea.