Location
Our service operates Monday to Friday 9-5pm. We aim to deal with all enquiries the same day but depending on the team capacity this is not always possible, we will however get back to you ASAP.
What we do
We are a small team of Community Diabetes Specialist (CDSNs) who are all prescribers. Our service acts as a link between your GP practice and the hospital diabetes service for people living with complex type 2 diabetes (already on or requiring to be assessed for insulin). We aim to support people to self-manage their diabetes, reduce or prevent the complications of diabetes, prevent hospital admission or readmission and enable people living with diabetes to live long healthy lives.
Referral
Referral to the service is via the person’s GP practice.
We have an open door policy and people previously under our care can contact us again at any point for advice.
Health professionals
For advice regarding management of a person with type 2 diabetes, please contact our professional advice email, including patient details and reason for contact email: fife.CDSNprofadvice@nhs.scot
For people currently under the care of the CDSN service, or who have had previous CDSN input, our telephone advice line is available Monday to Friday 0900 to 1500hrs – (01592) 729458.
For people with type 2 diabetes not referred to the CDSN service, your main point of contact is your GP practice.
Freestyle Libre 2
Flash blood glucose monitoring is available for people administering multiple daily insulin injections (4 per day). For consideration of this device, please discuss with your GP or practice nurse.
Services useful to you
Diabetes UK Scotland helpline 0141 212 8710
FAQs (Frequently asked questions)
Does everyone with type 2 diabetes need to be referred to the CDSN service?
No. People referred to our service require specialist diabetes support and are unable to achieve their target blood glucose levels despite being prescribed maximum oral diabetes medication. Following assessment, an individual treatment plan will be agreed between you and the Diabetes Specialist Nurse, treatment may include insulin therapy. Another reason for referral to the Community Diabetes Specialist Nurse service is that you have other complex long term health conditions that can affect your diabetes and your GP requires specialist treatment advice to help you manage your diabetes.
Once I have been referred to the community Diabetes Specialist Nurse Team do I no longer need to attend my GP for my diabetes reviews?
No. You will still attend your GP/ practice nurse for bloods BP and routine diabetes reviews. The Community Diabetes specialist Nurse service do not keep patients on their caseload long-term once you have achieved your individual targets and have received all the education required for you to safely self-manage your condition you will be discharged back to GP care.
Other pages in Diabetes
Technology and Diabetes
There are lots of different types of technology that can help the management of your diabetes.These include insulin pumps, smart pens, continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and flash monitors (such as Libre sensors). Please talk to your healthcare professional about how technology can help you.
