A service evaluation of the North East Essex Diabetes Service (NEEDS)

Malloy, Ella, Cushen-Brewster, Noreen, Heard, Gillian, Blundell, Julie and Gladwell, Valerie F. (2025) A service evaluation of the North East Essex Diabetes Service (NEEDS). Journal of Interprofessional Care, 39 (2). pp. 177-185. ISSN 1356-1820

[thumbnail of Malloy_etal_2025_JoIC]
Preview
PDF (Malloy_etal_2025_JoIC) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Improving outcomes and the integration of diabetes care for adults is a National Health Service ambition. In north east Essex, United Kingdom, an innovative interprofessional community-based diabetes service (North East Essex Diabetes Service (NEEDS)) was developed to provide a single point of access and continuity of care across an integrated, interprofessional care pathway. The aim was to evaluate how NEEDS was embedded into Primary Care, and gain insight into how it works from the perspective of staff delivering the service and from those receiving care. A mixed methods approach was used. Retrospective data from GP surgeries involved in NEEDS were analyzed. Online surveys (n = 21) and focus groups (workforce n = 23; service users n = 6) were conducted. A clear pathway of diabetes care across an integrated, interprofessional care system was demonstrated. Standard care processes and patient outcomes were higher than those recorded for other GP surgeries across England. Service users reported that they received support with more control over their care. The workforce reported a reduction in bureaucracy, blurring of professional boundaries, and thus autonomy to develop the service. The “virtual ward” provided a true interprofessional team approach. Patients and the workforce reported feeling empowered, demonstrating a holistic high-quality approach to patient care.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Funding: This work was supported by the Suffolk GP Federation under Grant[RD22052], 2022.
Uncontrolled Keywords: diabetes pathway,holistic approach,integration,multidisciplinary,teamwork,virtual ward,medicine(all),sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2025 14:32
Last Modified: 13 Oct 2025 00:26
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100692
DOI: 10.1080/13561820.2025.2452976

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item