Stay in hospital

[Ruth k]

just come out of hospital after tests and treatment for a chest infection. While the nurses were wonderful, there were many things that shocked me relating to diabetes. I was not asked if I was diabetic and towards the end of my stay, they did random testing. I was on steroids so knew my figures would be high .i was getting before food 6-8 and after food 12plus. No one commented about my figures and one nurse told me that my 8 was fine as between 4-12 was normal !! I was a bit shocked as to where she got that information from! .
The other issue was food, which was generally ok and enough to choose from to keep carbs reasonably low except breakfast which was so sugary. They had cereals not the real brands which all tasted sweet to me and packet porridge which was very sweet and horrible. I have plain oat porridge at home which is slow release and does not spike my bg but there my only other option was processed toast with jam or marmalade. They also pushed people to have processed fruit juice and every drinks break they offered biscuits or cake, I needed will power then!
I was concerned about the lack of knowledge about diabetes from the nurses and the dangers for the very sick and elderly on the ward who were not able to make choices about what they eat and we're fed very sugary things, one I knew was a diabetic.They took bg with little thought about its meaning and didn't even query my high levels.
Glad to be back home, weaning off steroids and bg getting back to normal levels...and my own food!!!

 

[Mark Parrott]

Oh no, what a nightmare! I'm really hoping I never need a hospital stay. The lack of knowledge of diabetes is shocking.

 

[Amigo]

Sounds worryingly standard to me Ruth!

You have to remember they 'tolerate' higher BG's when you have infection to the extent that my diabetes was actually missed when I went in as a non-diabetic. They didn't re-test.

Food can be shockingly non diabetic friendly and indicative of out dated thinking. My hospital only does carbs for breakfast. There's no alternatives! 😱

Glad you're home and hopefully feeling better.

 

[Ljc]

Sounds worryingly standard to me Ruth!

You have to remember they 'tolerate' higher BG's when you have infection to the extent that my diabetes was actually missed when I went in as a non-diabetic. They didn't re-test.

Food can be shockingly non diabetic friendly and indicative of out dated thinking. My hospital only does carbs for breakfast. There's no alternatives! .

@Ruth k , I hope you're feeling much better now.

My three local hospitals are the same re carbs. , though the nearest one is a community hospital and the chef comes round on your first day to find out what your dietary needs /dislikes are. They believe that all their food is d freindly, that includes the delicious jam sponges they serve with afternoon tea and a nice bunch of grapes when you order fruit

 

[Pumper_Sue]

At least you get fed which was more than I was. I went without food for 40 hours due to no access to gluten free foods.

 

[Ljc]

At least you get fed which was more than I was. I went without food for 40 hours due to no access to gluten free foods.

Omg that's disgusting.

 

[Northerner]

I'd write to the hospital manager and point it out. My only experience was at diagnosis, when I knew nothing. As I hadn't eaten for 5 days prior to admission I was constantly ravenous once they started giving me insulin, and the food was actually very tasty. However, with hindsight I now know that the readings in the high 20s after eating were NOT good, and that much of the food was unsuitable, even though I think the only thing they had that was 'unsuitable for diabetics' was treacle pudding and custard 😱

Sorry to hear you had to go in, Ruth, and that the experience was a poor one foodwise I hope that you are recovering well, now that you are in charge of the menus! 🙂

 

[Ruth k]

Thanks for your supportive comments .Now home , eating better and reducing steroids so my numbers are coming down finally. Guess I was just shocked at the lack of knowledge with nurses and the pushing of sweet things all the time. I might write to the hospital manager. Nurses should at least check out the NICE guidelines and be aware of variations due to medication and infection.

 

[Grannylorraine]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. You would really think that a hospital would not be pushing sweet things to the patients, but I guess it is a cost thing and they are probably cheaper than having fruit available.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

When I was in hospital after diagnosis all the meals were heavily carb based but I was told they were all 'diabetic friendly', even the sultana pudding and custard! I had about 3 mouthfuls as I was starving, but I knew, even with my very limited knowledge, that was ridiculous!

 

[newbs]

This does seem to be the case everywhere, unfortunately. My hospital stays have always been the same. Shocking lack of knowledge about diabetes.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. I've been very lucky to have had my three hospital operations done privately on BUPA and all of the nurses and other staff were very good about my diabetes and always taking it into account. Even my local NHS hospital which gave me an angiogram last year did ask about diabetes and were very good with everything. I would really worry if I was on a general ward in an NHS hospital. Always refuse sliding scale insulin treatment as the nurses don't have a clue on this and you can end up hypo. I've always been allowed to use my insulin myself.

 

[Amigo]

The lack of knowledge (or adherence to) diabetic friendly food in hospitals is only surpassed by nursing homes and I'm afraid it's got a lot to do with the mass carb catering option which is cheaper for them 🙄

 

[SB2015]

I spent yesterday evening in A&E in Bristol.

I was happily left to deal with my levels using corrections on the pump as necessary and asked to just let them know if there were any problems. We were both regularly offered a cup of tea with proper milk in it. I had a choice of sandwiches when I was hungry on wholemeal bread (less carbs once shared with OH and very fresh).

I have found this a common approach on my infrequent visits since being on a pump. They can hardly take it off me (unless setting up VRIII is necessary)

 

[Stefan Diabetes UK]

Really sorry to hear about your experience @Ruth k , sadly poor diabetes care in hospital is still much more common than it should be. I actually came on the forum precisely to ask if anyone had comments to share with a group of MPs who are about to start a short inquiry in to diabetes care in hospital.

I've created a separate already, but if you Ruth, or anyone else, are interested in sharing your experience, you can leave comments, long or short, using a quick Diabetes UK form. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diabetes will then use your comments (anonymously if you prefer) to put together a report on what needs to change to improve diabetes care in hospital.

First hand experience is always really important in these reports so I know any comments will be much appreciated, especially as it looks like there's a bit of a mixed picture from the comments so far.

 

[PhoebeC]

I've not been in hospital since I had my daughter, 6 years ago. The food was okay then, there was choice and there was real porridge and wheetabox too. Fruit was the real deal. Not the best quality meat or veg but I could eat most of it. Except one 'soup' which was morel ike grey paint haha!

When I was first diagnosed I was 16, I got put on the adult women diabetic ward. They where all over 60, type 2s and the sweet trolley came round twice a day and they all went crazy on it, I couldn't understand it as the dietitian had given me advice around what to eat and it didnt match this behavior.

I have witnessed many times total lack of awareness around diabetes from medical staff, they cant know about everything and with these sorts of things you will find out that we are normally the experts unless you have a good diabetes team at the hospital who can work with the other staff.

 

[MikeTurin]

I have witnessed many times total lack of awareness around diabetes from medical staff, they cant know about everything and with these sorts of things you will find out that we are normally the experts unless you have a good diabetes team at the hospital who can work with the other staff.

I agree, by the way isn't only an NHS/UK thing - even in Italy I've had bad experiences on this.
What is stange is that diabetes is a common condition, especially type 2, combined with metabolic syndromes.
We're not talking about diabetes insipidus or radon poisoning that are a problem luckily for very few people, we are talking about a common disease....

 

[Northerner]

I agree, by the way isn't only an NHS/UK thing - even in Italy I've had bad experiences on this.
What is stange is that diabetes is a common condition, especially type 2, combined with metabolic syndromes.
We're not talking about diabetes insipidus or radon poisoning that are a problem luckily for very few people, we are talking about a common disease....

This is something that has always confused me. Something like 6-8% of the population have diabetes, and they must comprise an even greater proportion of the people who have some contact with healthcare professionals due to the very nature of the condition and its many challenges - whether in hospital or the surgery, so why is it such a puzzle? When I was diagnosed I spent some time in the cardiac care unit - 90% of the people on the ward had diabetes, yet we were all given pretty unsuitable food choices

 

[mikeyB]

In Scotland this problem is being addressed. A plan has been piloted, and is now expanding to every hospital, of basic diabetes training being given to every nurse on every ward, with a diabetes information pack on every ward. I will report on how this is going when I next have a holiday in Glasgow, which could be quite soon. It's a bit easier for me, being type 1, but I should be able to find a type 2 wandering around looking grumpy.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

It doesn't help that there are vending machines all round the hospital which stock sweets/chocolate and sugary drinks, also there are shops and Costa's etc which all sell cakes and sandwiches 🙄
I took a wander down to the canteen, again foods were very carb based, pastas, pies, jacket potatoes and chips etc.
I did manage to order a cheese salad one night, but the cheese was like tasteless plastic . Also, what is the obsession with puddings in hospital? Both lunch and dinner have puddings on the menu, surely not good for anyone, let alone a diabetic.