The Northern Trust raises awareness for Insulin Safety week

21 May 2018

The Northern Trust Diabetes Team is inspiring staff to get involved in supporting Insulin Safety Week 2018, which runs from 14 – 20 May.

Insulin is one of the top five high risk drugs used within healthcare and around 20% of inpatients in the Northern Trust have diabetes.

The Northern Trust took part in the 2016 National Diabetes In-Patient Audit which covered areas such as insulin prescribing, administration and management.

Helen Bell, Pharmacist at the Northern Trust said, “The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the risks associated with insulin and encourage staff to learn more about how we can work together as a team, and with our patients to make insulin therapy safer.”

A number of activities will run throughout the week including a medical education event in the Postgraduate Centre at Antrim Area Hospital on Wednesday 16 May, an insulin focused edition of the ‘Medication Safety Today’ Newsletter, daily insulin safety quizzes and ward visits from the Diabetes Team.

This month will also see the introduction of the new Northern Trust Insulin Safety Group. This multidisciplinary group, which includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians, has been established to review the management of insulin, identify risks and develop practical solutions to make diabetes care safer.

The Trust also uses an electronic reporting system which is used for analysing insulin related incidents to facilitate learning and continuous improvement towards best practice.

21st May 2018