Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Trust

Community Diabetes Nurse to help educate people with diabetes

Tracey Bushell, a Community Diabetes Specialist Nurse employed by Surrey Primary Care Trust and working within the Diabetes Team at St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, is heading for the Caribbean island of Barbados where she will devote some of her time on a voluntary basis helping to educate people with diabetes about their condition.   She will be inBarbados from 3rd May to 26th July, a total of 12 weeks.   Unfortunately her departure arrangements mean that she will miss the Living With Diabetes Day on Saturday 28th April which over 100 people have now signed up to attend.

Tracey said: “Although I am disappointed to be missing our own ‘Living With Diabetes Day’ education event I will be spending some of my time in Barbados working with local nurses and doctors to help educate local people about how to manage their diabetes and the problems that can occur if it is not managed properly.   We have a really good diabetes service across west Surrey and I am hoping that our experience here will help those that I meet in Barbados.”

Tracey has been a nurse for 28 years and specialised in diabetes 7 years ago when she started work for the local diabetes team.    She lives in Eversley.    Her time in Barbados has been made possible because she is taking an unpaid sabbatical from her role.  

In Barbados Tracey will be working with nurses and doctors from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown.   It is the only major government acute hospital on the island.   Around 11 per cent of the population have diabetes and 75 per cent of the patients on the medical wards at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the medical wards have diabetes as part of their medical condition.     

Tracey continued: “I am really looking forward to this experience.   I know that I will be making good use of my time whilst I am there and the experience of working with patients and staff in another country will be valuable when I return toSurrey.   I am sure that I will bring back just as much as I am able to contribute to diabetes care out there.”