Diabetes UK charity leaders visit King’s College Hospital

13 February 2024 - Diabetes UK has paid a visit to the Trust’s specialist services.

King’s College Hospital welcomed Ms Colette Marshall, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, and Dr Charlotte Augst, Executive Director for Policy, Campaigns and Improvement at Diabetes UK, on a tour of the Trust’s specialist diabetic services on Monday 5 February.

Colette and Charlotte met with the King’s Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating (T1DE) team, including Professor Khalida Ismail, Ms Diane Turner, Ms Jennie Brown and Dr Marietta Stadler. They also visited the King’s Multidisciplinary Diabetes Foot Team, comprising specialist staff from diabetes, vascular and orthopaedic surgery, podiatry, nursing and orthotics, as well as people living with diabetes and foot problems.

The tour included a visit to the T1DE service at King’s and 10 Windsor Walk, the first integrated service of its kind in the UK to help people with type 1 diabetes manage their mental health. Hannah Davoll, a patient at King’s who has recovered from T1DE, was able to share her experiences of the service and the support she received. Staff at the Trust’s pioneering diabetic foot clinic were also on hand to give an insight into their work to heal foot ulcers and save people living with diabetes from leg and foot amputations.

Professor Khalida Ismail, consultant liaison psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital, said: “Diabetes UK are on the same wavelength as King’s in supporting the mental health of people living with diabetes, therefore it was a great privilege to showcase our world-leading T1DE service.”

Professor Michael Edmonds, consultant diabetologist at King’s College Hospital, said: “It was a pleasure to meet with Colette and Charlotte and have the opportunity to show how our multidisciplinary service is helping thousands of people every year.”

Colette Marshall, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We hugely appreciated the opportunity to hear from someone living with type 1 diabetes about their lived experience of disordered eating, and to learn more about how King’s College Hospital is taking an innovative approach to introducing psychotherapeutic innovations into diabetes care to support people living with the condition. It was also extremely valuable to have an insight into the Trust’s diabetic foot unit and see how access to good quality integrated healthcare services can transform lives.”