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Many children have diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes. Diabetes can lead to excess sugar (glucose) in your blood and can start at any age.
The two most common types of diabetes are type 1 (where your body can't make the hormone insulin) and type 2 (where the insulin your body produces isn't effective).
Most children have type 1 diabetes, so their bodies need insulin.
Accessing the service
Our service cares for children and young people from birth up to their 19th birthday. If you're referred to our service, you’ll meet our multidisciplinary team of doctors, specialist nurses, dietitians and paediatric psychologists while you’re on the ward.
During your inpatient stay, which will be at either Barnet Hospital or the Royal Free Hospital, you and your child will receive education and training to help empower you as a family to manage the condition, with specific information about carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment.
Regular support is then offered following your discharge from hospital, mainly at outpatient clinics held at Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.
The paediatric diabetes specialist nurses also work closely with schools and nurseries to ensure staff at these settings are confident and competent in supporting children with diabetes.
All three of our hospitals offer young adult clinics for people aged 16-19. The adult diabetologists, dietitians and diabetes specialist nurses join the paediatric team at these clinics, to promote a smooth move from children’s services to adult services.
Barnet Hospital
Email: RF-TR.
Tel: 020 8216 5431 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm — voicemail facilities available)
For advice outside of these hours, call 020 8216 5195
For queries about your child’s appointment, call 020 8216 5201
Chase Farm Hospital
Email: RF-TR.
Tel: 020 8216 5431 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm — voicemail facilities available)
For advice outside of these hours, call 020 8216 5195
For queries about your child’s appointment, call 020 8375 1901.
Dieticians at Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital
Email: RF.
Tel: 020 8216 4351 (voicemail facilities available)
Royal Free Hospital
Email: rf.
Tel: 020 7830 2571 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
For advice outside of these hours, including weekends and bank holidays, call 020 7794 0500 and ask for the paediatric on-call consultant, on bleep 1000.
For queries about your child’s appointment, call 020 7830 2144.
Dieticians
Tel: 020 7794 0500 ext 35716
We offer children and young people four outpatient clinic appointments per year, where they have access to all the professionals in our team.
When you arrive in the clinic, the clinic nurse will:
- Take measurements of your height, weight and blood pressure.
- Take a finger prick blood test to look at your blood sugars over the past three months. This is known as the HbA1c measurement, and the result will be available straight away to help with your consultation.
The diabetes team will also review the information from your home blood glucose monitoring. Please ensure you’ve also looked at your current upload. Blood glucose results can be uploaded to Glooko before your clinic arrival.
Once a year, screening tests are undertaken to check for conditions associated with diabetes or complications arising from the diabetes. Depending on the age of the patient, screening tests may include blood and urine samples and examination of the feet.
Nutrition is the cornerstone of diabetes management and is important for normal growth and development.
If you have any questions about nutrition and diabetes, or need advice, our dietitian is here to help support you with:
- carbohydrate counting
- healthy eating
- glycaemic index
- sports and exercise
- free-from diets (eg gluten-free diet for coeliac disease, food allergies)
- bolus options with insulin pump therapy
You may also find the following websites useful for carbohydrate counting and managing sports and exercise:
- Carbs and cals (book and smartphone app)
- Runsweet (exercise information)
For referring doctors
Any child suspected of having diabetes should be referred to our service by telephone on the same day.
Fasting blood glucose tests or oral glucose tolerance tests are not required, but a random blood glucose can be checked on a finger prick test and a urine dip for glucose if a sample is achievable.
Referrals should be directed to the on-call paediatric registrar at Barnet Hospital or to the attending paediatrician at the Royal Free Hospital (see the contact details above). They’ll arrange for the child to be seen on the same day.
Ward admission enables the family to meet the different members of the multidisciplinary team and to have structured education about diabetes.
