Renal diabetes
Diabetic nephropathy (deterioration of kidney function due to diabetes) is the single largest cause of end stage renal failure. Kidney and diabetes care are both highly specialised areas and a lack of coordination between the two can result in unstructured care for individuals.
Jo is a nurse who specialises in diabetes and works with the kidney team. She acts as a link with the kidney doctors and nurses at Imperial as well as the local diabetes teams across north west London. She also works very closely with the kidney pharmacists, dietitians and podiatrists to ensure your care is fully joined up.
Her role includes running diabetes clinics within the transplant clinic, covering the inpatient renal wards and liaising and advising with the dialysis units as required.
Do I need to see a diabetes nurse?
Everyone with diabetes will be primarily managed by the GP and/or diabetes clinic.
When would I need advice from a renal diabetes nurse?
- If you are newly transplanted
- If you need extra support in trying to manage multiple conditions such as diabetes and kidney conditions
- If you are prescribed medication that can affect your sugar control ( for example, steroids)
- On the advice of your kidney doctor
What can I expect during an appointment with the diabetes nurse?
The diabetes nurse will ask you questions about your lifestyle, eating habits, exercise and diabetes medication and testing and will review your medical data.
She will then work with you to draw up a plan that will enable you to get the best diabetes control for you.
What can I do to get the most out of my appointment?
- If you test your sugars at home please bring them to the appointment with you
- Bring a list of your diabetes medications and dosages
- Think about what you want to get out of the appointment
- Ask about things that you would like to understand better
- Share your experiences about what has worked and what hasn’t worked in the past
- Let us know if you need any information in a different way
Main contact details
- Telephone 0203 313 4373 (Direct line)
- Transplant Clinic: 0203 313 4268/8333
Clinics
- Renal Transplant Clinic at Hammersmith Hospital
- Monday and Thursdays. 9am – 2pm
Referral and clinical pathways
The kidney team manages referrals internally.
Clinical Pathway
If you wish to have an outpatient consultation with Jo, this can be arranged via the renal transplant clinic.
If you wish to have a consultation with Jo while an inpatient, the ward can contact her directly to request this
However, you will remain under your usual diabetes care provider for ongoing and routine diabetes screening and checks. This may be your GP or a diabetes team at another hospital.
Education and resources
There are a selection of useful leaflets in the clinic to take away if you need them
However, there is a lot of information about diabetes available on line but be sure to use a reliable source.
Below are some trustworthy links:
Diabetes UK is the leading charity for people with diabetes
Includes lots of useful information explaining what diabetes is, the different types of diabetes, self-management, what to eat as well as videos about the condition and much much more.
North West London designated website for people living with diabetes signposting to different services. With information about prevention of diabetes, food choices, support groups, education courses and local NHS services in North West London
Information put forward in a straightforward way by the NHS
This is an organisation that works across the world with people who live with Type 1 diabetes.
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