The Diabetes team prides itself on delivering timely, high quality, evidence-based, patient-focused care.

Over the last decade, the team have strived (and succeeded) to establish a high quality service with engagement and involvement of its users. The Diabetes Centre has an active research programme and has received recognition for its high quality diabetes service.

Telephone help

Patients attending the St Helens Hospital Diabetes Centre are welcome to phone for advice and support. This service is usually available Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5pm.

If it is non-urgent, please phone the Diabetes Centre answerphone on 01744 646 200 (option 2). Typically, a Diabetes Nurse Specialist will return your call within one working day (usually the same day).

For urgent queries, or to change your Diabetes Clinic appointment you can ring the Diabetes Reception on 01744 646 200 (option 1).

For emergency advice, please see 'Diabetes Emergencies' below. 

IMPORTANT NOTES

1. If you are unavailable when we phone, we will try up to two more times to contact you. Thereafter, we will leave it to you to phone again if you still wish to speak to someone.

2. If we do not contact you within 1 working day and you still wish to speak to someone, please call again.

Diabetes Emergencies

Healthcare emergencies affecting people with diabetes may be obviously unrelated to diabetes, obviously diabetes-related or possibly diabetes-related. If your problem is obviously unrelated to diabetes, you should contact other relevant services, such as your GP, NHS 111, a Walk-in Centre or the Accident and Emergency Department (AED).

If you suspect your healthcare emergency problem is or may be diabetes-related, then depending on the urgency of the problem, the following are some of the options available to you: 

• Phone NHS 111 (24 hour service for advice)
  
• Phone your GP for a routine appointment, an urgent appointment or home visit
  
• Attend an urgent GP out of hours service
  
• Attend a Walk-in Centre
  
• Attend the Accident and Emergency Department (AED, Casualty)
  
• Dialling 999 for Emergency Services (for life threatening emergencies)
  

If you currently attend Specialist Diabetes Clinic at St Helens Hospital and you feel the emergency may be dealt with by talking to a local diabetes expert, then between 9-5pm, Mon-Fri, you can phone and speak to a diabetes nurse specialist 01744 646 200 (option 5).

If you currently attend a Specialist Diabetes Clinic at St Helens Hospital and you feel the emergency may be dealt with by bringing forward a pre-arranged outpatient appointment, then between 9-5pm, Mon-Fri, you can speak to the consultant's or nurse's secretary (see Consultant Advice).

 Inpatients

• The specialist diabetes team typically provides daily (Mon –Fri 8am -8pm/Sat- Sun 8am-4pm/Bank Holidays typically 8am-4pm) input to the care of in-patients with diabetes
  
• Wards are encouraged to support patients in managing their own diabetes if they wish and are able to do so
  
• If there are problems with an individual patient's diabetes then wards are encouraged to contact and refer to the specialist diabetes team on the inpatient mobile service.
  
• Written consultant to consultant referrals  should be emailed or faxed to the relevant secretary (see Consultant Advice for relevant contact numbers)
  

Wards are specifically encouraged to seek Specialist Diabetes Team help with the following problems:

• Diabetic Ketoacidosis
• Diabetic Hyperglycaemic Hyperosmolar states
• Severe Hypoglycaemia
• Repeated episodes of hypoglycaemia
• Newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes
• Newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes
• Need for conversion to insulin
• Diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic Clinics

A variety of specialist diabetes clinics are provided by our team:

• New Patient Clinic
• Education Clinic (DEAL)
• Glucose Control Clinic
• Drop in clinic
• Foot Ulcer Clinic
• Diabetic Kidney (Nephropathy) Clinic
• Young Adults' Clinic
• Insulin Clinic
• Dietetic Clinic
• Joint Antenatal Clinic
• Home Visits
• Antenatal Support Clinic
• Insulin Pump Clinic
• GLP-1 Clinic

​Diabetes Centre,  Ground Floor, Orange Zone, St Helens Hospital

​Relevant websites

Link to Diabetes Inpatient Guidelines

Link to North West Coast Diabetes Guidelines

Link to Diabetes Treatments & Monitoring Consensus Statement

​Diabetes UK Website - http://www.diabetes.org.uk/