What is this service?
Our Diabetes and Nutrition Service provides education, information and support on diabetes and nutrition to patients, carers and healthcare professionals in the Bristol area.
The service is a one stop shop for education and advice, staffed by experts with many years of clinical experience. If you are a patient, this service can help you to take control of your condition and support you to make good choices for a healthy life. We also provide training courses for GPs and healthcare professionals, as well as clinical support to GP practices.
What does this service offer?
The team provides three main services:
1. Diabetes education
We provide a range of free education courses around Bristol for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, to support you to learn more about your condition and how to manage it. Read more about our current diabetes education courses and how to access them.
We also run a drop in clinic with translators for patients with diabetes on the first Thursday of each month, 9am- 12noon, at Charlotte Keel Health Centre.
We have a wide range of patient information and resources available on this website, such as leaflets and video clips and packs, including resources translated into a variety of languages, and resources for people with a learning disability. These will help you to self-manage your condition.
People who are newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes should receive a copy of the Diabetes Information Pack (a purple coloured folder), along with a Diabetes Care Plan via their GP Surgery at the point of diagnosis, or shortly after. Alternatively, anyone can download a copy of the Information Pack from our self-management page for people with diabetes.
To deliver our diabetes education service, we work in close partnership with other local health and social care services and with local voluntary groups, particularly Diabetes UK. We have also trained a number of local volunteer health champions who support our service by raising diabetes awareness in their local community.
2. Diabetes Specialist Nurses
Our Diabetes Specialist Nurses support GP practices across Bristol by improving health professionals’ knowledge of diabetes through training and advice. They also provide study days, conferences and network meetings throughout the year for local healthcare professionals.
In addition to the education of healthcare professionals, the Diabetes Specialist Nurses carry a small caseload of local people with diabetes and complex issues, who have been referred by their GP and who require short term intensive support and education from the team.
3. Dietitians
Our dietitians provide nutrition advice to people who have conditions such as diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease, food intolerances, anaemia, malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies. We also provide nutrition advice on other conditions.
We run specific group education sessions for people with irritable bowel syndrome as well as our carbohydrate awareness sessions for people with Type 1 diabetes. Patients and healthcare professionals can contact our team for more information on these courses.
In the patients and carers section of this website, we have information on how to manage unintentional weight loss, poor appetite and malnutrition, as well as comprehensive information on Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
What do patients say about our Diabetes and Nutrition Service?
The course was fantastic; brilliant teachers – a real credit to the organisation. I’ve learnt a lot and also met wonderful people who listen, give advice and share experiences - Diabetes Education Patient.
I can’t thank you enough for the difference you have made to my life - Dietician Patient.
Who is the service for and how can I access it?
The diabetes team can support any adult in the Bristol area who has diabetes. We accept self-referrals or referrals from any healthcare professional to our Diabetes education courses. Contact us on the telephone number above if you would like to self-refer. Clinicians can access a referral form on the left hand side of this page. To access the Diabetes Specialist Nurses, you must be referred by your GP.
Our dietitians are available to see patients who live in the north, inner city and east of Bristol. To access this service, patients attend appointments in a location of their choosing across the city (see dietetic clinics document under useful documents). We accept self-referrals or referrals from any healthcare professional to this service. Contact us on the telephone number above if you would like to self-refer. UHB Trust provides services to patients in the West and the South of the city.