Mental health support for people with diabetes to be offered in UK first

Wales is developing a national diabetes psychology pathway, described as the first of its kind in the UK, to offer tailored mental health support for people with diabetes. Patient accounts and experts highlighted gaps between diabetes care and mental health services that the pathway aims to address.

Wales is developing a national diabetes psychology pathway to offer tailored mental health support for people living with diabetes. Dr Rose Stewart, the diabetes psychology lead for Wales, is leading the work and described it as the first model of its kind in the UK. Campaigners and patients have said that gaps between diabetes care and mental health services can leave people without coordinated support. Several people with type 1 diabetes reported serious episodes of depression, problems managing insulin during those periods, and repeated hospital admissions. Key facts: - The pathway is being developed within NHS Wales' performance and improvement unit and is led by Dr Rose Stewart. - It is described as the first UK-wide model specifically for diabetes psychology and aims to offer access in various formats, including online programmes, individual therapy and crisis care. - The plan includes upskilling diabetes staff so they can better identify and respond to psychological needs. - Diabetes UK reports people with diabetes are about twice as likely to experience depression, and patients described being passed between diabetes and mental health services without joined-up care. Summary: The pathway aims to provide quicker access to specialist psychological support and to improve coordination between diabetes and mental health services. Development responds to patient reports of fragmented care and to research noting a two-way relationship between diabetes management and mental health. Undetermined at this time.