East Sussex pharmacists win national diabetes competition

The competition was held during a campaign to raise awareness of insulin safety.

The victorious pharmacy champions were a team of three led by Hannah Syed, lead diabetes pharmacist at ESHT.

They triumphed in the final against a team representing the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board based in Wales.

The final of the competition was during the national Insulin Safety Week, which helped to raise awareness at a time when people with diabetes are particularly vulnerable to covid-19.

Erwin Castro, ESHT diabetes consultant nurse, said, “I and the rest of the diabetes team are delighted by the team’s performance and their participation in the Insulin Safety Week this year.

“According to the results from the latest national diabetes inpatient audit, two in five people with diabetes on insulin - 40 per cent - experience an error related to the administration of the drug while in hospital.

“So raising awareness about insulin safety is very important.”

Insulin Safety Week, originally due to be held in May, was postponed until September when the pandemic took hold.

But ‘overwhelming’ calls from the clinical community saw organisers carry out extensive consultation and bring it forward, said ESHT.

The seven-day campaign saw the ESHT diabetes team stage a series of events across the trust to ensure vital information about insulin safety was communicated to staff in an attempt to reduce incidents of insulin errors.

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