Our achievements

Posted on 8 Nov 2024

Nottinghamshire Healthcare is delighted to have a colleague recognised in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS Integrated Health Care Awards, as part of an award winning team.

The Diabetes Transition and Young Persons’ Service based at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, won the Best Outcomes Award category at the awards on 6 November. Dr Gemma Paszek, Lead Clinical Psychologist in Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Physical Health Psychology Service, works as part of the service.

The team were also recently Highly Commended in the Quality in Care Diabetes Awards in the category of ‘Type 1 Specialist Service’. 

Becky Sutton, Chief Operating Officer at Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “Huge congratulations to Dr Paszek and colleagues at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, who work together to provide a fantastic service to young people with diabetes, helping them to live their lives to their full potential. It’s brilliant to see this work recognised in these awards.”

The judges from the Quality in Care Diabetes Awards highlighted the service demonstrated impressive reductions in diabetic ketoacidosis (DK), which is where a lack of insulin causes harmful substances called ketones to build up in the blood. It can be life threatening and needs urgent hospital treatment. The judges thought it was novel and brilliantly achieved.

Dr David Selwyn, Acting Chief Executive at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is wonderful to hear of the positive work being done by the Diabetes Transition and Young Person’s Service, which is a great example of different disciplines coming together to improve the lives of young people. I am aware that NHSE are looking at the model we have developed at SFH as an exemplar practice. A huge congratulations to the team for this award, which is truly deserved.”

The service, funded through an NHS England pilot scheme, has developed innovative care provision for young adults 18-25 years with diabetes. The team have adopted a fully integrated approach, placing the psychologist and dietician as core members of the team, providing joint clinic appointments with a consultant endocrinologist and diabetes specialist nurse. Young adults typically have poorer blood sugar control than children and older adults, leading to long lasting negative health impacts. The team are an excellent example of the benefits of the true integration of physical health and mental health provision and they have seen some remarkable benefits for the young adults they are working with, including dramatic reductions in hospital admissions and increased stability in blood sugars.

Dr Gemma Paszek said: “As clinical psychologists working in physical health, we strive to promote the added value of psychological care for patient wellbeing and health outcomes. The respect and appreciation for my profession I feel from colleagues in the young adult diabetes service has been encouraging and gratifying. To have the work we are doing showcased on a wider platform, and for the benefits of integrating physical and psychological care to be acknowledged and commended; I feel proud and enthused.”

You can hear Dr Gemma Paszek, Lead Clinical Psychologist in the Trust talk about the service in the video below.