Abstract Background The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme national report was published in 2020 with recommendations on how inpatient diabetes care could be improved. To determine whether there have been changes in service provision of inpatient diabetes care since the GIRFT report and to gather feedback from staff on current diabetes care, we conducted a survey of NHS hospitals in England. Methods A national survey of inpatient diabetes service provision and diabetes staff opinion was conducted across NHS hospital trusts in England between 1 July 2024 and 31 March 2025. The survey assessed inpatient diabetes prevalence, workforce staffing, infrastructure and information technology, care pathways (including perioperative care) and systems to improve patient safety. Findings were compared with previous national audits, including the National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA; 2010–2019) and the 2024 National Diabetes Audit ‐ Integrated Specialist Services (NDA ISS) survey. Results Responses were received from 136 hospitals, representing 102 (77%) of 132 NHS hospital trusts in England with a diabetes service. Most hospitals reported a continued increase in inpatient numbers since 2019. Although approximately 85% of hospitals reported access to Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurses (DISNs), nearly two‐thirds had no weekend DISN service. Access to diabetes physician support and out‐of‐hours specialist advice was limited. The use of networked glucose monitoring systems was widespread, but their use for quality improvement was inconsistent. Trusts with higher specialist staffing levels demonstrated shorter lengths of stay and fewer 30‐day emergency readmissions. Conclusions Despite improvements in inpatient diabetes service provision since 2019, substantial variation remains, with workforce capacity failing to match rising demand and increasing clinical complexity. The absence of a national bedside inpatient diabetes audit since 2019 represents a critical gap. Reinstating a national bedside audit and integrating service‐level evaluation with patient‐level outcomes should be prioritised to support safe, effective and equitable inpatient diabetes care in England.
Rayman et al. (Fri,) studied this question.