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It is a well-known fact that helping a person to lose weight can significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For those individuals who have developed the condition, education on issues such as nutrition and physical activity are recommended as key parts of their care. On pages 47 to 57 of this month's Guidelines in Practice, Dr Philip Home, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at Newcastle University, revisits NICE Clinical Guideline 87 on the management of diabetes, and highlights how structured education has been repeatedly endorsed by NICE in its guidance: this is evident in the recently published Diabetes in adults quality standard (see Box 1),¹ and NICE has also recommended 'dietary review' and 'being referred to a structured education programme' as two possible new QOF diabetes indicators for 2012/13.²

Also covered by Dr Home is the important role that commissioners will play in ensuring that structured education is available in primary and secondary care, and the challenges and current strategies in blood-glucose management. G

Julia Morris, Editor
julia.morris@mgp.ltd.uk

References

1. NICE website. Diabetes in adults quality standard. Available at: tinyurl.com/6cbp2ds
2. NICE website. Indicator recommendations 2012/13. Available at: tinyurl.com/3pulmau

Box 1: Diabetes quality statements relating to structured education1
Quality statement 1	People with diabetes and/or their carers receive a structured educational programme that fulfils the nationally agreed criteria from the time of diagnosis, with annual review and access to ongoing education
Quality statement 2	People with diabetes receive personalised advice on nutrition and physical activity from an appropriately trained healthcare professional or as part of a structured educational programme