WINNER

Diabetes 101: Creating a Community from a Crisis

By Diabetes 101

The Diabetes 101 project is a virtual diabetes MDT service, set up on Twitter in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and first national UK lockdown. At this time people living with diabetes were extremely anxious. Misinformation was a problem, and capacity in specialist diabetes teams was overwhelmed. The account disseminated reliable information, stability and support to people living with diabetes. It was staffed voluntarily by 19 multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals. The account has more than 6,000 followers, with resources shared around the world. Novel formats of education delivery have been successfully trialled and a website has been developed.

Judges’ comments:

“This was amazing work from Diabetes 101. They used social media in an innovative way and the infographics on data was amazing. The app gave those who were locked in the opportunity to access detailed information and get answers. The team did this outside of their day-to-day work and it is innovative, engaging and empowering. It is a fantastic example of cross-team working and genuinely kept people out of hospital. The fact that it was delivered in a less formal, chatty way made it engaging, nimble and with great reach. “