11 March 2019

Multidisciplinary Diabetic Foot Clinic launched

A new multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic has been launched at Conquest Hospital which brings together in one clinic, Vascular and Diabetic doctors and specialist nurses along with Podiatrists, to provide the best possible care for patients with diabetic foot problems.

The multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic provides those patients deemed at risk of losing a lower limb, with a dedicated team of specialists from across the Trust. It will save patients coming for multiple appointments, as they will now be seen in one clinic by multiple specialists helping to prevent amputations.

Multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic team

Multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic team

Around 4.7 million people in the UK have diabetes. People with diabetes are more likely to be admitted to hospital than those without and are also at greater risk of complications and infections while in hospital. In particular, disease of the foot remains a major threat to people with diabetes, and can result in amputations, the majority of which are said to be potentially preventable.

Mr Bjorn Telgenkamp, Consultant Vascular Surgeon said: “Diabetic foot care remains a challenging but very important part of helping patients with Diabetes. In hospital we see the most challenging cases with the potential to end up with an amputation. Our goal at ESHT is to reduce amputation rates for our patients and improve the overall patient experience. A key part in achieving this is to work together with all the involved specialties, and we are very pleased that this Multidisciplinary Diabetic Foot Clinic will provide us with the opportunity to deliver excellent care, whilst reducing amputation rates.”

Dr Periasamy Sathiskumar, Clinical Lead for Diabetes said: “Running combined clinics where our multidisciplinary diabetes foot team work alongside our vascular colleagues, is an excellent way to improve the care for patients with a diabetic foot ulcer. This initiative will help to avoid delays in getting specialist opinion and treatment. We have been running a similar service at Eastbourne DGH for some time, so we now have an equitable service across both acute sites which benefits even more patients in East Sussex.”

Mika Dave, Podiatry Lead said: “This new clinic will benefit our diabetic patients in a number of ways. It will reduce the need for multiple appointments, with patients now able to see their Podiatrist, Diabetes and Vascular Specialists in one appointment. With an agreed joint management plan for each patient our Podiatrists, who manage the patient’s care between these clinics, can ensure the highest quality of care resulting in a decrease in amputation rates.”

Matron Silin Cornelius, Conquest Outpatient Department Lead said: “The outpatient nursing team are proud to support and work alongside this new multidisciplinary team, who are making such a difference to improving the care we provide our patients with Diabetes. We even celebrated the launch of this clinic with some home baked foot shaped biscuits for everyone.”