Designing a regional clinical service for people with early-onset type 2 diabetes in England

To design a regional clinical service for people with early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOT2D) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (England).

A literature search was undertaken to identify important considerations. A working group of key stakeholders was formed to design a triage system and service pathway. Electronic medical records (EMRs) were searched (15th November 2023) to assess feasibility of the pathway and adapt accordingly.

A literature search identified important considerations: High risk of complications; large proportion from minority ethnic and socioeconomically deprived backgrounds; significant psychological burden; stigma and other social challenges; and misclassification and miscoding. Novel clinical risk criteria were developed, implementable in EMRs, to match intervention-intensity to clinical need. Specialist clinics were planned, one for people at the highest-clinical risk, another for women with adverse perinatal risk factors. A healthcare professional training package was developed to increase awareness of the unmet clinical needs of people with EOT2D and to upskill in provision of holistic care. Subsequent EMR searches supported the need for our service. Due to the large numbers with HbA1c ≥86mmol/mol (10.0%; n=299; 10.8% of total), these people were prioritised for clinic access. We opted for specialist nurse/educator support to practices with clustering of patients and to financially incentivise referrals from primary care into services.

We showcase a service specifically for people with EOT2D based on the literature, a broad range of stakeholder involvement and utilising a locally-sourced data-driven approach. We further discuss areas for development and recommendations based on the challenges we encountered.