Updated diabetes resources for nurses and general practitioners
Updated National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) resources are available for nurses and general practitioners who provide care to patients with diabetes.
The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) is an initiative of the Australian Government administered by Diabetes Australia. The NDSS works to support people with diabetes to live well through diabetes information and education, support services, programs, and subsidised products.
The NDSS has released updates to 2 resources designed for primary healthcare professionals to enhance patient care for people with diabetes. They are the:
About the National Diabetes Nursing Education Framework 2024–2026
Funded by NDSS and delivered by the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA), the National Diabetes Nursing Education Framework 2024–2026 (the Framework) is a professional development tool designed to support the growth of a skilled nursing workforce in diabetes care.
The Framework is:
relevant to all nurses working with patients of all ages and types of diabetes
supports continuous learning and advancement in diabetes education and care.
The NDSS website has information factsheets about:
how to implement the Framework
how the Framework can help nurses working with patients who have diabetes
what people living with diabetes can expect from nurses depending on their level of expertise.
Sick day management of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
When people with diabetes become unwell their health challenges can become magnified. Because of this, it becomes important to incorporate sick day management into your practice to better support your patients living with diabetes.
The NDSS recommends that the development of a sick day action plan in combination with sick day management education should be provided to patients at diagnosis and be reviewed or updated at regular intervals. Resources to support this include:
the updated clinical guiding principles for sick day management of adults with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes and the My Diabetes Sick Day Action Plans, which can be used by health professionals to support their patients with sick day management
the latest clinical guide and action plans, which have been designed to support adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes during times of illness.
Further diabetes support
Brisbane South HealthPathways offers guidance for the assessment, management and local referral pathways for diabetes.
Quality improvement (QI) is a system of monitoring and refining processes with the goal of delivering better health outcomes for patients. QI can help guide general practices to:
analyse their practice data
develop comprehensive knowledge about their patient population based on the data
identify areas for improvement
set up processes and systems that enable streamlined delivery of patient care.
Diabetes is a topic available that practices can select for completing QI in 2026. To express your interest, please contact the Quality Improvement team by phoning 3864 7540 or email [email protected].
View self-paced QI activities designed for practices to complete independently.
Our general practice quality improvement (QI) coaches are available to support your practice on the topic of Diabetes. To express your interest in QI support in 2026, please contact the Quality Improvement team by phoning 3864 7540 or email [email protected].
Alternatively, view and select from our self-paced QI activities designed to guide general practice staff through the independent completion of a QI project.